


Supergirl: Legacy of Krypton

by JamCov



Series: Supergirl: Seeing Red [2]
Category: Green Lantern (Comics), Red Lanterns (Comics), Supergirl (Comics), Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/F, Friendship/Love, Mystery, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:20:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 41
Words: 111,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27370354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JamCov/pseuds/JamCov
Summary: Armed with a Red Lantern ring and resigning from the DEO, Kara looks to Lena to provide support and keep her erratic mind in check.The immense power comes at a cost, her own mind and relationships constantly teeter on the edge of collapse.The two of them have to look to unlikely allies to unravel the mysteries of the World Killers, protect the Earth from their wrath.They play the lethal balancing act to keep Kara sane and alive all the while greater machincations start to reveal themselves.
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Series: Supergirl: Seeing Red [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1428061
Comments: 35
Kudos: 76





	1. Cues

**Author's Note:**

> This is part 2 of a series. The first part is called "Supergirl: Prometheus."  
> You're welcome to start here but a lot of context on events and characters will be missed. It also may take a fair few chapters to get up to speed if you skip part 1.
> 
> This is a redraft of a work I have already posted elsewhere, chapters should come quickly and I recommend sticking with this one as it should be the better version.

The clattering of pool balls whacking together filled the bar. They broke cleanly and one rolled gently into a pocket.

“I’m stripes,” Lena said. She looked at the table, thinking about her next shot. There was an easy one lined up, the ball invited her to knock it in. She hesitated, there was no good follow-up if she managed to pot it. Her usual opponent tended to need one opportunity to clean up the entire table and would be smug about it to boot. Her search for a safer shot drew her eyes away and over to her current challenger. Kara stood close with a cue dangling loosely in her hand. The light of the bright lamp hanging above bounced off her glasses as she bent over to inspect another shot. Lena stood up straight and rested on her cue, Kara’s judgement of the place was fun to watch. There had been a few improvements made over the past month, the wooden beams were now accompanied by a fake fireplace and antique bookshelves filled up with leather-bound books. Lew, the owner, had put these up at Lena’s suggestion. She never expected to be taken seriously and was mostly joking when she did it. Despite the new furniture making the cramped layout even smaller, it added to the classic and homey feel Lena had grown to love. The sun poked through of the gridded windows at the front, brightening the usual dim booths with their faded leather.

Besides Lew, who was reading behind the bar, they were the only two there. Her nose wrinkled slightly as Kara eventually turned back to the table and caught her watching. Lena coughed and quickly leaned back down, glancing at her again before potting the easy shot.

“Why are we here?” Kara said. Her voice filled the space with ease, Lew glanced up from his book. Lena played with the smooth cue as she looked back down at the table, all the straight shots were now blocked one way or another. She ignored the table for a moment to address her.

“You said you wanted to meet,” she said.

“Well yes, but this isn’t exactly what I had in mind,” Kara said, her mouth pouted to one side. Lena had to admit to herself that she probably should have warned her that The Cheshire was less lavish than her usual suggestions. Kara’s cute dress sense stuck out like a sore thumb in this part of the city. Her usual bookish, bright jumper and skirt made it look like she never ventured outside a library let alone spent time in some obscure dive. She had to remind herself that underneath the unthreatening charm was the raging power of Supergirl. Even after a couple of months, she struggled to process that’s who her closest friend had been the whole time.

“Sure it’s not the usual fare but I like it here, it’s cosy and quiet,” she said.

“It’s certainly quiet,” Kara said.

“Give it a chance,” she said, she struck the cue ball off a wall and it tapped a striped ball. “Your shot.” Kara did not look convinced but still bent down to the table. Inexperience showed as she lined up the shot poorly and her ball bounced gently off the side of the pocket. Kara grunted in annoyance and clenched her fist.

“Maybe pool was a bad idea,” Lena said, weary of how her temper could be.

“No, it’s alright,” Kara said looking down at her hand. “I’m just getting used to this place… and you in it.” Lena looked at herself.

“What do you mean by that?” she said.

“Jeans, trainers, plain t-shirt, letting your hair down. It’s odd seeing you like this,” Kara said. Lena shrugged.

“I can’t be a fashion icon all the time,” she said. She walked round the table for what would be an awkward shot, Kara side-stepped out of her way. The felt pressed against her hand as she adjusted herself, practically mounting it to line up properly. She pushed up onto her toes with her planted foot, nearly slipping in the process. Kara caught her and a shiver went down her spine.

“I’m good, I’m good,” Lena said, doing her best to remain composed. Kara let her go and despite the distraction, she just about potted the shot.

“Maybe I should have let you fall,” Kara said. Lena pushed off the table and brushed herself off. Kara was smiling. It was nice to see, the search for Mon-El had gone nowhere and that power ring of hers kept her on edge at all times. The whole reason Kara had come to her with her biggest secret was for emotional support. Apparently, she was the only one able to somewhat stifle the rage and revenge obsessed ring’s hold over her when it was at its worst. What made things harder was whenever she tried to get close to her or reach the heart of any of her anger, Kara would push her away. She had told her the worst-case scenario was the ring outright rejecting her, if that happened she would die. It made talking with her a balancing act most of the time. She tried not to think about how bizarre her personal life had become as she sunk another shot.

“This is looking like it’ll be a short game anyway,” Kara said. Lena moved round, the ball she was aiming for was pressed up against the wall. She took a deep breath and the weight of the cue in her hand lightened as she brought It forward carefully. The cue ball moved smoothly and the gentle contact rolled her target toward the pocket, but it stopped before it could reach. Lena put her head on the table in despair, she could never get those shots quite right. Kara still seemed impressed.

“Since when were you such a pool-shark anyway? I thought it was all chess and high society in the Luthor household.”

“It was, and I’m not that good,” she said, flashing back to the many games she had since frequenting The Cheshire. The locals always trounced her, apart from Gary, they were evenly matched.

Kara looked pleased with herself as she clattered in the shot she had missed earlier, even managing a successful follow-up. She stopped and sighed.

“Hey, that was a good shot,” Lena said, confused at Kara’s despair. Kara put the cue down.

“This wasn’t supposed to be a social call or to calm me down,” she said. Lena was taken aback.

“You aren’t embracing the ring again are you?” She said, her work with Sam Arias was a constant reminder of what Supergirl was capable of.

“It’s not that, the ring can be erratic, but it’s mostly levelled out since Prometheus.” They both looked to where it would be, Kara had the power to make it invisible but it was always there to play on her mind. Kara lowered her voice and leant in close. Lena could smell her perfume and the hair on the back of her neck stood up as she felt Kara’s breath so close to her.

“I think it’s time you let me in on the World Killer investigation,” she said. Lena’s shoulders slumped as she backed off and shook her head.

“You know why you can’t do that,” she said.

“It’s been two months and there’s been practically no progress,” Kara said.

“You have to be patient, I get that the ring is torture but your involvement could be disastrous,” she said.

“You can’t understand what this thing is like,” Kara said. Lena rested her cue against the table.

“I’m sorry, poor choice of words. But you know that mad cult will get even crazier if they get a whiff of a Kryptonian on their case,” she said.

“I’ll do it as Kara and I’ll be careful,” Kara said. Lena looked into her eyes, there was a strong determination in them that was hard to deny.

“Just give it a bit more time,” Lena said. Kara said nothing. It hurt to put her through it, but the emotional strain of dealing with the World Killers would be a lot for her. All the hard work to control herself might be undone in a single moment. Reign alone had dismembered Alex, nearly killed her and Lena’s own experience of trauma at the World Killer’s hands lingered in her mind. As it was her job to keep Kara under control, she had remained adamant that Kara steer clear as it was such potent fuel for the ring. The Kryptonian argument was useful to hide behind, but Lena herself was getting frustrated at how little she knew about it all. She was determined for that to change.

Lena gave her a quick hug and spoke at a normal level again.

“Now come on, you’ve got another shot,” she said, handing Kara her cue. Kara looked at it, then to Lena. She reluctantly turned back to the table and promptly missed a shot.

“I don’t think this is my game,” she said.

“You’ll improve,” Lena said, missing her own shot.

“Not going easy out of pity are you?” Kara said.

“You know I’m far too sore of a loser to do that,” she said. Kara smiled again, she expected it to take more effort to dissuade her from the World Killers. Her impatience was understandable, the main reason she kept the ring and put herself through its hell was because there were three more out there somewhere. It amplified her powers immensely and without it they would all be at the mercy of the World Killer’s, if they ever showed themselves.

She watched Kara take another shot, it skimmed the ball and covered the middle pocket. She sneered when she looked away from the table. Lena assumed she had been unhappy with the shot as she leant over for her own. She eyed the ball at the opposite end of the table, her chin was close to the wooden edge and she concentrated on getting the right feel of the cue. Just as she brought it forward, a voice bellowed across the bar.

“Hello ladies.” The sudden noise caused her to totally mishit and her face dropped as she watched Kara’s ball roll into the pocket. She stood up and turned to the familiar voice.

“Thanks for that,” she said. She looked to Kara, who had an impressive amount of disdain painted all over her face.

“Oddball,” she said, her voice matched her expression.

“Pleasure as always, Danvers,” he said. As usual he wore a plain hoodie, this one was green. She liked to imagine his wardrobe was entirely made up of different coloured hoodies. “Either of you want a drink?”

“I’ll have a coke,” Lena said.

“Coke for Lena, and you,” he said, pointing to Kara.

“I’ll…” her head cocked slightly. “Actually, I was just leaving.”

“You sure?” He said. Lena looked at her inquisitively, it was the face she made when she was about to rush off to be Supergirl. She may have sensed something, the ring had a habit of alerting her out of nowhere, but the timing was convenient enough for her to suspect she was faking it to get away from him. Either way, Kara had practically committed to being Supergirl full time at this point.

“Yeah, work-phone just went. I should go,” she said.

“It’s Sunday,” he said.

“News doesn’t take the weekend off, Oddball,” Kara said. She walked round to Lena. “Talk to you soon?”

“Of course,” Lena said. Kara gathered her things and made a hasty exit. Oddball and Lena leaned against the table and watched her leave.

“I think I’m winning her over,” he said.

“She can’t stand you,” Lena said as the door swung shut.


	2. Knowing

“Coke. Just coke?” He said.

“Yes, just coke,” she said. He sauntered up to the bar. Lew poured her drink without looking away from the book followed by an impressive display of a bottle having its cap removed in a single motion with one hand. He took a swig from his and handed her the drink.

“You’re actually having a beer at 2:30 in the afternoon?” She said.

“I’ve been up since 5am yesterday, so technically it’s still my Saturday night,” he said, looking over the pool table. “Didn’t even finish the game, mind if I take over?” Lena handed him a cue.

“You’re not supposed to be here for another hour, Oddball never turns up on time,” she said.

“If you told me you were sneaking in a date with Danvers I would have left you to it, as it stands Monarch is more of a wildcard” he said. Keeping up with his persona and name shenanigans was always a chore. He potted his first shot, the cue ball ricocheted back and slowed to a perfect position for his next attempt.

“It wasn’t a date. She said she needed to talk to me, so I suggested meeting at The Cheshire. I mean I needed to be here anyway,” she said.

“Uh-huh,” he said with another flawless shot. He stood up straight, narrowly avoiding the low-hanging light over the table.

“So she just calls and you go out to meet her, then she just leaves on a whim…” Lena stopped him from moving to his next shot.

“I’m happy with where we’re at right now,” she said, she barely convinced herself with that line. He took her shoulders and looked right at her.

“You told her how you felt and now she’s keeping you on the hook, I didn’t think you’d stand for that sort of treatment,” he said. Lena hesitated, before she said anything he shoved her out of the way to take his next shot. The push had absolutely nothing in it, but it caught her off-guard.

“It’s not like that, I have my own doubts about moving forward,” she said.

“Shouldn’t you be telling her that,” he said as his third shot clunked in.

“There’s a lot of recent… complications,” she said, unsure of how to explain the more specific problems with Kara.

“Is it the glasses thing?” He said, not looking up from the table. Lena’s eyes narrowed, it was not hard to guess what he was implying. It was certainly like him to drop this sort of knowledge so casually, although usually he would wait for a drink to be in her mouth to do it. She knew better than to give the game away immediately.

“What’s this about glasses?” She said. 

“She takes them off from time to time,” he said. Her expression immediately dropped to one of bemusement.

“We’ve done this enough times for you to know I hate it when you’re coy,” she said. He checked behind him to see it was still just the two of them. Lew was there not paying attention, though he would never say anything anyway.

“The fact she’s flying about crime-fighting shouldn’t get in the way of a relationship, surely you considered that before diving in,” he said, raising an eyebrow.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said. The light blinked a few times at them. Unsure how else to respond, she folded her arms and watched him try to read her reaction. Behind her poker face was a guilty relief he had said it. Their meetings were business-like at first, but his knack for tangents and willingness to listen to her problems had made these meetings extremely cathartic. It was so easy to be relaxed with him, they practically met daily now. She told herself it was to keep apprised on the World Killers, but she knew it was really to provide a break from tip-toeing around Kara.

“Let’s say, in theory, that’s true. Which it isn’t. Why would you think that?” She said.

“Now who’s being coy?” He said. She stuck with an impatient look, it was often enough to break him. However, this time he was content just to look at her back. She could tell from his shifting expression he was putting something together in his head, it was always worrying when he did that.

“Wait… You didn’t know until after….” He said, snorting slightly.

“Answer the question,” she said with a slight bobble in her voice, it destroyed any authority she might have had. She turned red as he burst out laughing. It echoed around the bar and Lew tried to block it out by shifting over his stool.

She simmered as he calmed himself down, he looked back at her and nearly started off all over again. A well-timed glare shut him down and he went back to the table. She tried to stick with her impatient look despite knowing she was rumbled.

“I spoke to her as Supergirl. Not only were both her and Kara ridiculously protective of you, but more importantly she doesn’t even hide her face… or voice… or change her attitude that much…” he said.

“You said glasses made a good disguise,” she said, trying to salvage any kind of dignity from the situation.

“Not when you know the person that well and not when you know to look for it,” he said. He started laughing again. “How did she even show you? Did she whip off her glasses and say “look it’s me”?”

She could keep denying but she knew there was no point. That guilty side of her also embraced the fact she could finally talk about it with someone. She watched her insightful friend’s smug grin and sighed.

“No… as Supergirl she changed clothes and tied her hair back… no glasses involved,” she said, diving into her drink to avoid eye-contact. When she looked back at him his hand was over his mouth. “It’s not funny.” He slid his hand down.

“It’s a little funny,” he said.

“Shut up,” she said. After an endless silence of Monarch mostly succeeding in not laughing, a question popped out.

“Wait, she got changed in front of you after basically turning you down? That’s…”

“It’s not like that, she said, cutting off this particular line of enquiry before it could start. “She has the power to materialise and breakdown certain things, clothes included. It’s instantaneous and doesn’t show anything off,” she said.

“Huh. What a bizarrely specific power,” he said. She figured if he knew about Supergirl then the ring would not be much of a secret. She watched him clatter in his final ball, leaving only the black for the win. Her own ball blocked a direct shot so he walked around the table, checking lines off the wall.

“But back on topic. You, an actual genius, failed to work out who Supergirl was when more often than not, the answer was literally staring you in the face,” he said. Lena passed the cue between her hands and looking at the floor.

“I guess I assumed she’d have told me something that big earlier,” she said.

“Ah, trust issues,” he said.

“Hmph” she said. It was non-committal. Despite the statement being obvious she was feeling too sheepish to be snarky.

“I take it there’s more problems, otherwise you’d have just talked to her about it,” he said. She was in it now, no use holding back.

“You know how Supergirl is flying about with the red uniform and that weird new ring?” She said.

“Yeah,” he said as he lined up for his final shot.

“Well that ring is powered by her rage and taps into a dangerous side of her. It makes her extremely temperamental and going against that thing’s will could seriously weaken her.” She stopped to clear her throat, saying it out loud was harder than she thought. “It could even kill her.”

He looked away from his shot and raised his bottle to her.

“So you have to balance your feelings with her whacked-out mind. Yeah that’s a tough one,” He took a sip.

“It’s hard on me. Though it’s harder on her. That’s why I have to be there for her, no-one else can keep her grounded like I can,” she said. It really was therapeutic to talk about, despite Monarch’s unusual approach she was growing more grateful that he worked it out himself. The only person she would have trusted something this deep with was Kara, for obvious reasons she could not exactly discuss it with her.

“Well you’re doing a good thing. Now we’re talking about it, S.G. eluded to that ring being a bit weird when she talked to Prometheus, so I’ve actually done some asking around about it,” he said, Lena perked up, happy to let yet another drop of knowledge he had kept to himself slide by.

“What have you found?” She said, hoping to get some sort of insight.

“Not a lot on red, apparently most people that encounter them don’t live to tell the tale,” he said.

“That’s the opposite of reassuring,” she said, her mood immediately dropped.

“Let me finish. There’s other rings that work in a similar way, powered by different emotions. Those green guys that have shown up recently, their rings are Willpower. There’s also blue, which is hope, violet is love, and yellow, which runs on creating fear in others. There’s a couple of others but wasn’t much to go on for them. Turns out the yellows are commanded by some guy named Sinestro. He’s out to destroy the greens and bring what he thinks is proper order to the universe. Sounds like a tool if you ask me,” he said.

“Do I want to know how you know this?” she said.

“Pretty simple actually, you ask aliens what they know about it and piece together from there. But I think the bit you’ll really want to hear…” he looked at her as he shot his cue forward. “Is I think I’ve found someone who can explain the whole damn thing, red included. Might help you with Kara or at least give you some peace of mind,” The cue ball hit the wall and tapped the black cleanly. He smiled at her as it rolled toward the pocket. It hit the edge and bounced lightly away. It was Lena’s turn to smirk as she glanced at the black ball, then back to him. Monarch’s face dropped as the ball sat there, passively mocking him.

“Damn it. Got too cocky,” he said. Lena looked at the table, it was now nothing but open shots. If she played it right the game was hers for the taking. She took a deep breath, noticing it always had a mild and pleasant pine smell in The Cheshire. She grabbed the chalk from the top of the light, the quiet grinding putting her at ease. She was convinced it made no difference to her game but it was something that people seemed to do.

“While it’s certainly useful for me, aren’t you supposed to be chasing World Killers?” She said, making her first pot with ease.

“Urgh, that’s boring. How’s that Nth metal treating you?” he said. Her mind wandered to her lab, she had no idea how he got hold of such things but the Nth metal he had gotten to her was a remarkable substance. She had a few projects on the go with it after some study. She snapped herself away from the tangent once she realised what he was trying to do. She stood tall pointing the cue at him as she spoke, her free hand carelessly waving around.

“No, you always distract me with some fable or alien science. Then we talk about my life, then end up getting drunk or going home without even addressing the whole point of meeting in the first place,” she said.

“I thought the point of the meetings was to talk about your life, it’s always Kara this and L-Corp that,” he said. His delivery was deadpan and his face was hard to read. He was standing in shadow, taller than the dangling light. She was sure he was winding her up.

“Whatever. I’m asking now. What progress have you made with the Krypton cult?” she said. Aggressively shooting at another ball to emphasise her point. The satisfying clack echoed slightly as it angled the ball nicely in a middle pocket.

“Can’t we just skip to the getting drunk thing?” He said.

“It’s the afternoon and if I don’t give Kara something soon she’ll start investigating herself or exploding, maybe both,” she said. He sighed.

“Fine. But promise me you won’t let her anywhere near this. It’s for her own good.”

“I’m not forcing anything, it’s not like I could stop her anyway. Hell she might even be able to help you,” she said.

“No, she’s too close to all this. Besides she brings those DEO hacks with her and they’ll wreck everything,” he said. The fact he still was out of the loop regarding Kara’s dissociation with them was something she held onto, a useful reminder that he was not actually all-knowing. His hatred for the DEO was usually quite entertaining but this was one of the few times he came across totally serious.

“I’ll do my best but no promises,” she said. There was no way she was going to pick a side between him and Kara unless she absolutely had too.

“It’ll do I guess,” he said, promptly changing his tone. She watched him in her periphery as she lined up her next shot. He took another swig of beer. While he did not seem totally satisfied, she reckoned he did his best to keep these talks of theirs going as well. He always perked up when he brought up some obscure knowledge or provided some old vague story that related to whatever problem she might have mentioned about Kara. It did not escape her notice that there were no recent personal stories. He would claim to be hiding different parts of his life, she simply thought he lived a lonely life and these meetings were just as cathartic for him. According to him, she was one of the few people that even knew he used more than one name.

“Krypton cult, I’ve been on the fringes for an age. They’ve been around a long time and used to keep themselves. They think anything associated with Krypton is holy and worthy of awe. I knew the leader, he was a bloke named Thomas Coville, he was a moron,” he said.

“Was?” Lena said as her shot potted her final ball. Nothing but the black was left.

“Died from being a moron. When the Daxamites invaded, him and a few followers saw it as their sacred duty to Krypton to fight off armed aliens with nothing but faith. Funnily enough they didn’t last long,” he said.

“Your tact always impresses me,” Lena said. Monarch ignored her little aside.

“Whilst he was a moron, he at least knew that hurting innocents and meddling with alien tech was a no-no. A lesson he didn’t teach their new leader,” he said.

“Makes sense, Reign didn’t emerge until after the Daxamite invasion. You think they hoarded artefacts and this new leader activated or summoned her somehow?” She said.

“That’s my thinking, the idiot probably did it by accident. Problem is I’m not close enough yet to get anything concrete. I’m doing what I can to avoid their weird initiation rituals. Unfortunately, that avoiding has made progress slow,” he said.

“How close are you? Who knows what else they could unleash,” she said.

“Well another dead moron that clued me in in the first place seemed adamant the World Killers were the worst of it. Sent to cleanse the Earth or whatever. I’m closing in on it, I just need more time with their members,” he said.

“You better work fast, or it could be game over for all of us,” she said as she shot at the black. He clapped slowly as the ball dropped into the pocket.

“Points for dramatic flair,” he said. They put the cues down and moved to a booth.

“So is getting drunk still on the table?” he said.

“Sorry, I’ve got a meeting later. It’s also still the afternoon,” she said.

“Does everyone work on Sundays?” He said.

“Don’t you?” She said. Now she could see him a bit more clearly there were massive bags under his eyes and his stubble was slightly more unruly than usual. His casual demeanour was more of a tired one.

“I don’t adhere to business hours, or any hours. In fact I like to think time follows me,” he said. 

“I’ve noticed,” she said rolling her eyes. “It isn’t that sort of meeting anyway. I’ve got talks with another Super and a former World Killer,” she said.

“I still want to talk to her by the way,” he said.

“It’s better if you wait a bit longer,” she said. Inflicting Monarch on Sam at this stage would be a recipe for disaster, she could barely manage Sam on her own let alone keeping him in line.

“Besides, have you looked at yourself? You need to get some sleep,” she said. He groaned.

“Can’t we stay a little longer?” He said. She checked her watch and looked over at a disinterested Lew.

“Alright, I’ll stay until I finish my coke. And I guess I wouldn’t want to go without getting in some gloating about finally beating you at pool.” She took a long sip. The cold coke tasted all the sweeter as she let out a satisfied “ah.”

“I started with more balls on the table, if anything it only counts as half,” he said. She ignored him as she put her hands behind her head and leant back, sliding down the leather. She let the bubbles of victory tingle on her tongue as Monarch protested further.


	3. Care

Time always flew in The Cheshire and before she knew it she had to rush home. Kara had always insisted her apartment was immaculate but there was always something she found to tidy. Magazines not stacked right, a laptop where it should not be or furniture not quite at the right angle. The open-plan apartment with its muted colours was bathed in the sunlight, it brightened the modern space nicely. She used to practically live in her office but now she was somehow seeing even less of this apartment. Her time was spent in labs, The Cheshire and wherever Kara needed her.

She had changed into something a bit smarter to make the effort for Superman. He was running late so all she could do was wait around and anticipate his arrival. The pressure she tended to feel in this anticipation faded the moment he would show up, but that urge to impress him was always there. She thought it stemmed from guilt over her brother, Monarch’s theory was that anything related to Kara turned her brain to mush. She was sure that she could kept her cool in these situations but admitted to herself that aspects of it could possibly, partially be true.

She checked herself in the mirror while she waited, she now decided that her outfit was perhaps too formal for a Sunday afternoon. She took out her earrings out and switched to a more comfortable jacket. As she thought about changing shoes there was a knock at the door. Opening it revealed the tall, broad and smiling Clark Kent.

“Hi there, come in,” she said.

“Can’t. I’m in a rush. Lois is supposed to be looking after Ruby, but she’s running late,” he said. Lena looked puzzled.

“So you flew from Metropolis, without changing, to tell me that in person. You really just need to take my phone number,” she said.

“If my boss found out I had your number I’d never hear the end of it,” he said.

“I can deal with Perry White,” she said.

“I was talking about Lois,” he said with a smirk. Lena’s face dropped. She had always just about managed to deal with the questioning of Lois Lane but the idea of a direct line for her was scary. That woman’s ability to dig up hidden truths was uncanny, she was worried about the day she might let something important slip.

“Alright, I yield. I’ll be here when you’re ready,” she said. He glanced at the open window, looking like he was about to launch, but stopped himself.

“Actually, do you want to come with? Ruby is always happy to see you,” he said with a smile. Lena ran her hands through her hair, she had spent time on it and a super flight would ruin that in seconds. She looked at the smiling face and thought of Ruby.

“Okay then, just not too fast please,” she said.

“No option I’m afraid, got to get back to Ruby and I’m in my civvies,” he said as he picked her up. She sighed.

“Let’s just get this over with.” She had been surprised at how willing Superman was to give away his identity at first. She thought the Luthor name alone would have been enough to put him off. He simply said if Kara trusted her, so did he. She also found out that he had been impressed by her on that fateful day Reign attacked, she still just thought of it as a terrible plan. Kara did not always like the attention Clark got, but Lena had to admit that managing to impress him was an uplifting thought.

She held on tight as the wind rushed through her hair.

“You okay?” he asked. His voice carried easily even as the air whooshed past her ears. She just nodded and held tighter. The world blurred by and soon enough she was placed back on the ground. She stumbled back and had to catch herself. They were in an alley of some sort, but that was all she could really tell. Getting one’s bearings and staving off dizziness after one of these flights always took a minute or two. Clark’s strong hands took a hold of her.

“Thanks, but it’d be more helpful if you stopped moving,” she said.

“I’m not,” he said.

“Right,” she said, instead waiting for the world to stop moving around her. She held Clark’s wrist as her senses re-aligned and her legs became reliable again.

“One day I’ll get used to that,” she said.

“At that speed, people never do,” he said. She whipped out a mirror and did what she could with her hair. Attempts to smooth it down were more successful than usual.

The crunch of broken glass beneath her feet sounded out as she looked to escape the smell of overflowing bins of the alley.

“Couldn’t land somewhere nicer?” she said.

“There were maintenance staff on the roof,” he said. She had always thought two people emerging from an alley together looked suspicious but both Monarch and Clark had told her no-one cares enough to notice in those situations. When she brought up the point people were more likely to recognise her, Clark conceded and told her he would be more careful, Monarch told her to watch her ego. She appreciated Clark’s sentiment more.

As the streets of Metropolis were presented before her, it felt like it lacked the charm of National City. The spaces and buildings seemed so square. There was a greyness to it all and even the more impressive landmarks had an underwhelming flatness. It was sterile and overly orderly, the traits that probably drew Lex to such a place. Lena was more than happy to relocate the company headquarters away from here. Clark’s pace was getting increasingly difficult to keep up with, he was in a rush to get back to Ruby. His worried expression from leaving the very capable Ruby alone for what was probably less than five minutes showed just how much he cared. When she first visited Sam after the transformation, the dilemma of who could care for Ruby was solved instantly. Superman had volunteered without hesitation, it was then when Lena saw his true heroism. He did everything in his power to help people, he was not just a flying bruiser like Lex had always insisted.

When they arrived at Clark’s apartment building he turned to her.

“Do you mind if I rush up the stairs?” He said.

“By all means. Third floor, right?”

“Yep, it’s not too far down the corridor on the left side. I’ll leave the door open,” he said, disappearing from view. Not fancying that many flights she called the lift. The useful applications of superspeed ran through her head as she waited for it to arrive. It was quite the generic lobby, the desk was empty but everything was clean and well kept. Clark and Lois did well for themselves to afford somewhere like this in the centre of Metropolis. A lift dinged at her and a few people made their way out. One of the patrons double took as she noticed her but quickly shook it off and went on her way. Lena sidled in and pressed the button, it was rough and a little more worn than the others. She had the space to herself as the smooth jazz kicked in, part of her longed for more exciting music in the lifts she took.

Her journey to Clark’s apartment was uninterrupted and she strolled in to an empty living room. She could hear some sort of conversation in one of the other rooms. Clark popped his head around the doorway.

“Make yourself at home, Lois should be here soon,” he said.

“Just make sure you’re out here when she arrives,” she said.

“There’s no force in the universe that’d convince me to get in her way if she wants something from you,” he said. Lena kicked off her shoes. The carpeted floor was soft on her feet and she sat down on the old sofa.

“Is that Lena?” Ruby’s voice carried around the walls.

“Shouldn’t you finish that question first?” Clark said.

“It’s almost done…,” she said. There was a pause.

“Ah, go on then. She won’t be here long anyway,” he said. Lena chuckled to herself, the man of steel was defenceless against the will of a twelve-year-old.

She scampered over and jumped next to her. Lena narrowly avoided the landing, bouncing up slightly from the impact.

“Easy there,” Lena said. Ruby shuffled around, looking pleased with herself.

“Hi Lena,” she said. Clark followed her out.

“Don’t jump on the sofa,” he said. She looked at him sheepishly, he gave a bemused look in return.

“Can I get you something Lena? Tea, coffee?” He said.

“No thanks, I’m fine,” she said, Clark disappeared into the kitchen. She was prodded in the arm and turned to an energetic Ruby.

“Do I get to see Mum today?” Ruby said. Lena sucked air through her teeth.

“Sorry Ruby, not today,” she said.

“Oh, okay” Ruby said, deflated slightly.

“How’s school, I know Metropolis doesn’t match up to National City but it must be growing on you, right?” she said, looking to move on quickly. Ruby half-smiled.

“The people here are nice. Oh, and I got an A+ on that science project you helped me with,” Ruby said. She could still see her disappointment, but Ruby was trying to hide it.

“Happy to help, but it was all your work,” she said, secretly pleased that her own record for flawless grades remained intact. She had not expected to get so involved in Ruby’s life after everything was sorted. Kara’s sister had been kind enough to use her DEO connections to make sure her school transfers and living situation went through without any hitches. It was Ruby herself that needed help settling.

“How are things with Clark and Lois?” She asked. Ruby arched over, looking at the kitchen door.

“I like them, but Clark has really good hearing. I can’t get away with anything,” Ruby said in a lowered voice. Lena arched over with her, matching her volume.

“Try playing out some sort of quiet, ambient noise on your phone, if you’re lucky it’ll mask what you’re up too,” she whispered back. Ruby slowly nodded in understanding and the two of them giggled with each other. Clarks reappeared out of the archway and raised an eyebrow at them.

“See,” Ruby said. Lena waved him away.

“Girl talk,” she said. Clark feigned a suspicious look. Lena usually felt awkward around kids, but Ruby was mature for her age and it was easy to be the fun one when Clark, Lois and Sam took on the brunt of the parental duties.

There was a sound of a keys jangling and the front door latch clicked, Lois clambered in with several bags.

“Sorry I’m late. I didn’t think Perry could have a worse mood, yet the city’s bout of power cuts has somehow managed it.” Monarch’s comment about everyone working on a Sunday popped into her mind. Clark strode out and kissed Lois on the cheek, he picked up the bags.

“I’ll put these in the kitchen, you want me to cook tonight?” He said.

“No, it’s my turn. I just need to put my feet up for a bit,” she said. She turned to the sofa.

“Oh, Hi Lena.” Lena waved at her. Noticing the giggling Ruby, Lois slumped down on the sofa next to her. “What are you two planning?”

“Nothing,” Ruby said, briefly exchanging a sly look with Lena.

“Are you being a bad influence?” Lois said.

“Me? Never,” Lena said, holding her heart, Ruby giggled again. There was some rummaging in the kitchen and a small crash as some groceries hit the floor. They all ignored Clark’s clumsiness, it was common enough that she started to suspect it was not an act. Lois’ tired expression turned. She flipped her long, black hair out of her face and an all too familiar grin rose up.

“I don’t suppose I could get a quote about your feud with Cat Grant?” she said. Despite the fact Cat Grant was supposed to play no part in the proceedings, behind the scenes she was doing everything in her power to block L-Corp from buying out CatCo. She was still taking a lot of flak for the Air Force One incident but seemed determined to make an enemy out of her for some reason. Whether it was out of spite or for an attempted distraction from her political blunder, Lena had no interest or time for such childishness. She ducked behind Ruby.

“Save me Ruby, she’s still in reporter mode,” Ruby laughed again.

“I’m always in reporter mode,” she said.

“Everything’s packed up, ready to go?” Clark said, walking out the kitchen. Lena slipped on her shoes and sprang up.

“Ready when you are,” she had just been saved by Superman. “It was nice seeing you again,” she pointed at Ruby, “Finish that homework.” Ruby slumped down and folded her arms.

“Fine,” she said.

“After you, Clark said, holding open the door. They waved them goodbye as they marched out and got in the lift.

“She’s a good kid,” she said.

“She’s coping well and thanks to Kara covering pretty much the entire world, I have a lot more free time to spend with her. Me and Lois are no substitute for her mother of course, but we do what we can,” he said.

“You’re doing a good job with her, trust me,” she said.

As they made their way to a more secluded spot, Lena looked away for a moment and Clark was decked out with an S on his chest. The cape flapped lazily behind him.

“Ready for another flight?” He said.

“I do have a lab here in Metropolis if that makes it easier?” She said.

“Sorry to drop a change of plan on you, but she’s been uneasy. The arm stuff and returning to a normal life has her a bit spooked, she still needs some encouraging,” he said. Lena ran her hands through her hair. She nodded, her neck started to itch as she mentally prepared herself for a trip to the Fortress of Solitude.


	4. Doubts

The cold bit at her nose, it staved off the flight’s disorientation quickly. The doors sparkled and the spikes of ice towered into the sky. She looked up in awe at the Fortress of Solitude, even with its ominous implications it never failed to impress her. The light danced between the shards and glimmered down. Snow crunched as she kicked it away and Superman slowly pushed the heavy door open, she reeled as a cold breeze hit her face from the parted entrance.

“Welcome back,” he said, holding out his arm.

“You never get tired of that, do you?” She said. Superman cracked a grin.

“I don’t get to show this place off much.” He said.

Lena walked through. She still shivered despite the icy chill fading. This was the current home of Samantha Arias. That moment where the life was nearly squeezed out of her and her vision faded to black was still so vivid. She resisted the urge to scratch at her neck and muttered the words “you can breathe,” to herself. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply through her nose. She rubbed her face and the let the air come out of her mouth, the fog from it rose and disappeared to nothing. The warmth of a hand touched her shoulder.

“Do you need a moment?” Superman’s soothing voice came through. Even with her coping mechanisms, facing Sam could still be an uphill struggle. Superman had sussed something was off early on but knew not to pry without prompting. She swallowed and shook off another shiver running down her spine.

“How’s Sam been doing?” she said. Superman looked concerned but answered regardless.

“Still no sign of Reign, Sam’s been herself since I first brought her here,” he said. The fact there was no sign of a relapse was a saving grace. Sam had always been apologetic and a bit withdrawn around her. While she had no solid memories of her time as Reign, she had an inkling of what she had done. Their time together had been negligible as she usually dealt with Sam in a scientific capacity and let Ruby do the social heavy lifting. She also felt an element of safety as majority of it was spent in L-Corp facilities, the familiar environment and equipment had a habit of easing her nerves.

“Did your guy in Wayne Enterprises have any luck with that data?” She said.

“Yes and no. He ran it through the medical and biotech branches, but he’s hit the same roadblocks you have. Healing the arm naturally is a lost cause and her pale skin seems to be permanent. On the positive side, he agrees that there’s no reason to believe she’ll relapse as far as the brain scans go. As for the powers, whatever made her switch seems to have stuck for the most part. She’s not quite as strong as before but the yellow sun still has quite the effect on her,” he said. Lena had looked over all her results again and again. Sam’s biology was mostly Kryptonian but compared to the scans Superman volunteered for and a few wayward files Lex had left around, there were abnormalities and bizarre differences she failed to get her head around.

“If he had any additional findings I’d love to see them. The more data I have, the higher chance I can understand exactly what I’m dealing with. It might even give us clues on how to find the other World Killers,” she said.

“I’ll try, but he can be difficult when it comes to sharing,” he said. Lena nodded.

“Well what’s the plan now? I can’t do much here,” she said.

“Like I said, I think she needs a bit more encouragement. I’ve said my piece, but I think it’s you that will give her the push she needs,” he said.

“I’ll try, do you know where she’ll be?” She said.

“She tends not to stray too far from her own space, I’ll keep an ear out and intervene if it seems like you need it,” he said. She thanked him and moved off. As she went, he caught up with her.

“Remember, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want too,” he said, genuine concern in his face.

“I’ll be okay,” she said.

She remembered the way but moved slowly. Not only did she have her own anxieties to contend with, but the most empathetic man in the world could not get through to Sam. She trusted his judgement but wandering how much of a difference she could make as she delved deeper into the cavern. Sam’s area was through a crevice off to the side. The ceiling was low and the narrow walls felt close. The periodic fog of her breath pressed against the ceiling and she lost her footing a few times on the slippery floor. This passage felt like the only part of the fortress that was not grandiose, instead being an extension hastily carved out. It was surprising how dark it was getting as she descended, the bright lights of the cavern and the glow of the sun chamber were usually in sight by now. She finally made it through that endless walk into the large, open cavern. The only light source in the room was the flickering of a tv screen. She spotted the sun chamber lying dormant, the tube would fill room with warm yellow light when it was on. Superman would not tell her much about its origin, but it functioned as rapid healing for Kryptonians. He had used it to save Sam from Kara’s onslaught. Prolonged exposure to it had healed her nicely, as well as turned her hair red for some reason. The hair colour change was just biological another mystery Lena had not solved yet.

The furniture and other luxuries Lena had installed here were in their usual places. It gave Sam something to do in her down time, she even ensured there were two beds in case Ruby ever ended up visiting her here. As it stood, Clark had somehow managed to keep his identity a secret from her. Though the connection seemed obvious, she was reminded that maybe spotting such things was harder than she thought as her eyes were drawn to the flickering screen. Kara was out in force as Supergirl, the volume was too low to make out much detail, but the gist was some damage control of a natural crisis in Brazil. Sam was standing, watching it intently. Lena cleared her throat, causing Sam to snap round.

“Lena, I didn’t hear you come in,” she said, scrambling for a remote. She switched off the TV and the lights brightened. Sam smiled nervously. Even with one arm, ghost-white skin and red hair. The woman she had briefly known before the change was recognisable. Lena blinked a few times, her eyes adjusting to the new light level. She focused on the image of Sam that was the kind, dedicated person in an attempt to cast out the memory of Reign.

“So… here we are,” she said.

“Yeah…” Sam said.

“I gather you didn’t want to come out today,” she said.

Sam made a non-committal noise. The two of them stood at a distance, Lena wanted to get closer, but that lingering memory gave her pause.

“Why now, all this time spent recovering only to stop when you reach the end?” she said. Sam sighed and looked at the floor. The silence between them hung in the air.

“I’m worried about going back,” Sam said. It was strange, apart from the initial shock, Sam had been surprisingly calm about her circumstances.

“I know it must seem more real than ever, but you’ll adjust,” she said.

“Maybe,” Sam said, looking back at the now blank screen. Lara looked down and shuffled her feet slightly. It was obvious that whatever was making her hold back was not just a matter of simple nerves. She could guess where the source of her worry lay.

“Ruby misses you,” she said.

“I miss her…” Sam said.

“You’ll get to live with her again, it’ll be just like before,” she said. Sam cocked her head.

“Is Ruby happy with what she has?” Sam said.

“She wants you back in her life,” she said, cautious of Sam’s change in tone.

“That’s not what I asked,” Sam said.

“As happy as she can be, I guess,” she said, unsure of what point Sam was after.

“Shouldn’t I let her have that a bit longer? A normal life with normal guardians?” Sam said. Lena closed her eyes, with trembling hands and a deep breath she stepped towards her.

“Why all this sudden doubt?” She said. Sam looked to where her arm once was.

“I guess I didn’t think I’d be going back so soon. The arm, the skin, any other changes… I can take it. But Ruby...”

“She’s seen you like this already and it doesn’t bother her at all,” Lena said.

“Isolated spaces are one thing, and you, Superman, Clark and Lois have been so understanding. But it’s everyone else. Ruby will go to school as the kid with the freakish Mum. The woman who terrorized the city, back with a vengeance and a robot arm to boot. What can I do about that? Reassure everyone on the school-run that I have no intention of murdering them? People cowering in fear on a day to day basis? Regular shopping trips turning into drama because Mum draws so much attention. I can’t do that to her,” Sam said.

“If it helps, during your only major public appearance as Reign you still looked like your old self,” Lena said. Her eyes widened, immediately regretting how tactlessly she had worded it. Sam laughed slightly.

“Don’t worry, I know you’re trying to help,” Sam said. “I just want to do what’s best for her.” Lena took another deep breath, staring at the hand that had been wrapped around her neck that night. She started to feel an itch in her neck but knew she had to soldier through.

“You know how I told you Ruby came to visit me when you first disappeared?” she said.

“You mentioned,” Sam said.

“Did I ever tell you what happened after?” she said.

“Not really,” Sam said.

“She asked to be taken to school. Of all the requests to make with everything that was going on,” she said, gaining better control of her breathing and once again stepping towards Sam. “She did it because that’s what she thought you would want. Everything else was arbitrary for her. The simple fact of the matter is she loves you and wants you to be her Mum again,” she said. Sam fell silent, Lena flinched when she started moving towards a nearby chair. She could not help it but even so, regretted the impact it had on Sam’s mood. Sam pulled it up and rubbed her forehead.

“Even if you don’t mean to be, you’re still scared of what I might do,” Sam said.

“I saw Reign at her worst, but that wasn’t you,” Lena said.

“And what if she comes back? What if I’m with Ruby and I switch,” she said.

“It won’t happen, we’ve taken every precaution…” Lena said.

“We’re talking about my daughter here, Lena,” she said. Lena wanted to freeze or reel away at the outburst. Instead she closed her eyes, the words “you can breathe” cycled through her head.

“That day, when I faced Reign. I was able to make her stop, if only for a moment. A mere mortal like myself was able to stop a World Killer in her tracks with one word. “Ruby.”” Lena’s heart was racing and her whole body felt like it was shaking. She recomposed herself, pushing through the memory for the sake of Sam and Ruby. “Your connection to her was so strong that it cut through all the madness and pain. I say with no doubt in my mind that all the worries you have will pale in comparison to being with Ruby again.” Sam dropped her hand and looked passed her. Staring off at nothing in particular.

“I need some time,” Sam said.

“I can wait, but I don’t think Ruby wants to, and deep down neither do you,” she said. Sam sat there in thought, it seemed like her words had got through to her.

“When you’re ready, I’ll be there,” Lena said, turning to leave. She heard the words “thank you” come from Sam as she left, she turned back with a slight nod, but she wanted to get out. She told herself more words might cast doubt, but really she just wanted to keep a semblance of control.

When she reached the end of the crevice and was surrounded once more by the shining walls of the Fortress, she bent down hands on her thighs and exhaled loudly. Superman was there waiting for her.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that, but she needed to hear that from you,” he said.

“It was my choice, no need to be sorry,” she said. It was still difficult for her logical mind to deal with such irrational fear. She wished it was just a matter of getting over it and moving on, but she knew it was not that simple. It felt like knowing the science behind her fear and that the danger Reign posed was long gone should serve as some sort of salve, it never was.

“For what it’s worth, if you ever doubt yourself, remember these moments. You push through everything for the good of others. It’s how I know Kara’s in safe hands,” he said. Superman’s intentions were always so pure and despite how it could be uplifting, part of her longed for a bit of levity. Lena steadied herself, her breathing returned to normal and her body was still. Despite its glory, being inside the fortress instilled that effect of creeping darkness that Reign had on her. Though for this moment, it seemed to have brightened, if only a little.


	5. Desk

Lena looked around, appreciating the layout of the room. It was an ample distraction to admire the gleaming office. Its style was similar to the time before it took a beating, it was a spacious area with white furniture and luxurious carpeting. She often kicked off her shoes just to appreciate the soft touch on her feet. It was a perk of being forced to refurbish after it had a brief stint as a fighting ring for various powered beings. Supergirl had crashed through the walls to get at Reign, and before that, Prometheus had wrecked most of the room in his own fight with Reign. He had used her old desk as an improvised weapon. She had spent a week with a dinky replacement, it had been a sad looking thing. The days of that replacement desk were dark times indeed, Lena had impatiently cursed the thing numerous times before the new one she commissioned came in. She tapped away at it, the novelty had yet to wear off. Having not replaced some of the more worthless shelves she had more space to work with, which was the perfect excuse for an even bigger desk. To her left was a touchscreen built into the desk itself, at the press of a button it could retract underneath. To her right, a large monitor with a fully flexible base. She wondered why it took an angry armoured man breaking everything for her to think of such a glorious work set-up.

At this point, she had set up L-Corp to basically run itself. She kept oversight and her new displays made it even easier to keep track of it all. After smoothing over the hits on her affiliates from Prometheus, she was now in a position where she could sit around and do nothing all day while profits still steadily increased. It gave her the time to look after Sam, Ruby and Kara, as well as sneak in trips to The Cheshire. She almost resented how comparatively little she had to do these days. The challenge of L-Corp had disappeared, a victim of her own success. Part of the reason she had bought CatCo was for the new experience of running a media empire. This was a decision she had come to regret, even the gloriousness of the monitor did not alleviate how dull the content of the screen was. Jimmy Olsen was running the CatCo side of things and had insisted she have some form of press release on the complications of the acquisition. She had been deflecting it long enough, happy to let baseless speculation float around. It did nothing to tarnish L-Corp’s image and added no substantial fuel to the ridiculous feud narrative. She finally accepted it when Jimmy informed her of CatCo’s board member’s growing insecurities. Keeping nervous board members happy was nothing new, she had quickly earned the confidence of Lex’s old associates and the other high-ups in the company. Now she just had to do it again, the only real hardship she faced was just how dull it was. Dealing with the obstacles and colossal ego of Cat Grant were not the challenges she had in mind when she bought the company.

She forced herself to read through the statement again. The draft CatCo sent her had been so dire that she set the ultimatum that either she could write it herself or would not do it at all. She had changed the meaningless business buzzwords and passive aggressive snipes at Cat Grant into something far more eloquent and neutral. Jimmy had not told her who the author of the original draft was. He was probably protecting whichever dim-witted member wrote it from her judgement. Scrolling down the screen and reading her familiar words kept drawing her eyes to the minimised tab of Dr. Tammy Dyer’s designs. The incredible work in artificial limbs was far more interesting than wording a statement to be as boring and free of controversy as possible. She got about halfway through before giving in to take a look. Dr. Dyer’s standard work was already impressive, Alex Danvers’ artificial arms were a testament to that. Though they paled in comparison to the current design she had pulled up. Whatever mad inspiration drove Dr. Dyer to create an arm with massively increased strength and extreme durability was a worry Lena glossed over. If applied to a regular human this arm’s power would be dangerous, the rest of the body would be unable to cope with its strength and break the body of the user in all sorts of nasty ways. Putting it on a Kryptonian negated this problem entirely. With a few tweaks and some help from Dr. Dyer integrating the arm’s neurological compatibility with Kryptonian physiology, it was a perfect replacement for Sam. For the sake of privacy Lena had told the doctor it was all theoretical. It was likely she suspected something, but Dr. Dyer was not the type to ask questions if it meant she could move forward with her work. When the time came Lena would be applying the procedure to Sam. It was mostly an automated process, but it did not stop her mulling over the notes and taking in all the blueprints. She fully understood how it all worked having studied it all intently numerous times, but it was a good excuse to avoid the boredom of the unnecessary statement. She had even dabbled with the idea of applying Nth metal to the arm for greater flexibility and durability. Eventually she had decided against it, she did not have much of it and changing the design late in the game was an unnecessary risk.

She hovered back over the statement’s tab, waiting for some sort of interruption. Her wishful thinking went unanswered. The phone was rudely silent and her assistant had nothing to bring up. She reluctantly opened the file back up and forced her way through it. An hour into this mind-numbing task a notification popped up on her screen, one of the pressure plates on her balcony had been triggered. Monarch once asked her why she did not face her desk towards the window, he clearly lacked the eye for interior design that she did. Lena swung round in her chair, a fiery-looking Supergirl stood there. Lena pulled herself out of the leather chair, it took a bit of effort as she had sunk further and further down into it over the past hour. It squeaked and it bounced lightly off the desk as she pushed off. She admired Kara’s uniform as she approached. Public opinion was divided but Lena was firmly in the Red Lantern camp when it came to her preferred outfit design. The sleek red and black exuded a commanding presence and though she would never admit it to her, she thought the cape always looked a bit tacky and was glad it was gone. Lena’s shoeless feet pressed against the rough ground as she went from her soft carpet to the concrete balcony.

Supergirl’s breathing was heavy and her fists were clenched. Lena placed her hands on her shoulders.

“Look at me,” Lena said, trying to catch her gaze. Supergirl was looking to the ground, her heavy breathing causing the crest on her chest to slowly rise and fall. The S had merged with the Red Lantern symbol, symmetrical jagged lines lined up either side of the famous logo. Lena snapped her fingers at her.

“Supergirl?” Still no response. Lena reached for her chin, there was no resistance as she pushed Supergirl’s face up to make eye contact with her.

“Kara,” she said. Kara blinked quickly for a few seconds.

“Lena. Sorry.” she said, becoming more aware of where she was.

“No need to be sorry,” Lena looked strolled to the side. “I’ve not seen you that out of it for about a week. Anything I should know about?”

“A particularly violent gang in the DRC tried to put up a fight, the ring made itself known,” Kara said.

“When was the last time you took a break?” Lena said, leaning on the railing. Now Kara zipped around the entire world instead of just one city she spent a lot more time as Supergirl and in turn, a lot more time using the ring.

“I was at that bar with you…” she said.

“I mean a real break, an odd hour here or there won’t cut it,” Lena said.

“I can’t stand by when there’s people out there who need me. I can always hear there calls, ringing in my ears. The hum of their cries for justice, it never stops,” Kara said.

“You aren’t alone, let others pick up the work for you. Clark and J’onn may not be as powerful but they can still make a big difference” she said. Kara seemed hesitant. “You told me yourself that you can’t let the ring control you, if you’re out there 24/7 it’s just giving it more of an opportunity. It can’t be easy, but I’ll always be here for you and I’ll do everything in my power to get you through this.” Kara was silent, it was nothing she had not heard before. Keeping Kara away from the fight was hard, it went against her need to help everyone. The look Kara would have in her eyes when she was forced to step back was the hardest part to deal with. Lena still pushed through, knowing it was for Kara’s own good. After a long pause Kara spoke up.

“I’ll let Clark know I’ll be taking it easy for a few days,” she said, the reluctance in her voice was not just about having to take a break.

“How are things with him?” Lena asked. She noticed a slight glimmer from the ring as Kara joined her in looking over the balcony, a light breeze brushed at Kara’s hair.

“I don’t really know, he’s making an effort but I can tell he’s still struggling to deal with what I did to the Daxamites,” she said. Lena shuffled closer to Kara, still admiring the view.

“And what does he make of the ring?” she said. Kara sighed.

“He saw me at my absolute worst and still accepts me. I cut off Sam’s arm as much out of spite for him as it was for my own revenge. He understands what happened, his willingness to forgive and his belief that everyone has good in them has worked in my favour. Though he is very bad at hiding how uncomfortable he is when I’m around,” Kara said.

“Well I know all he really wants is what’s best for you. It’s painful for him to see you go through all this,” Lena said.

“I guess, he’s definitely judging me as well,” Kara said, her expression was neutral. She wanted to disagree but knew that was not what Kara needed to hear. The cloudless sky was filled with plane trails, Kara stood up straight and looked ready to leave again. Her check-ins were usually brief, Lena never felt like she did much to calm her down, though Kara claimed they worked.

“You can stay if you like, I’ll be working but would welcome the distraction,” Lena said.

“No, I’ll leave you be,” she said. Lena pushed off the railing and smiled at her. Kara returned a half-smile, still seeming distracted. Lena struggled to think of what to say, nothing profound or particularly comforting sprang to mind.

“See you soon,” was all she could think to say as Kara gently levitated. She gave her one last look before shooting off into the distance. The red glow lingered in the air for a few seconds, Lena kept looking at it long after it had faded. Her visits like this often felt too short, just as Kara would begin to warm up to her, she would leave. She figured the detached attitude kept the ring in check, not angry enough to lose control but doing what she could to stop it rejecting her. Though it never felt like it, helping Kara stay balanced was a victory.

Lena rubbed her arms, the railing she had leaned on left a slight mark on them. Her feet welcomed the padded carpet as she stepped back inside. She was startled by her phone rattled against her desk. There were three missed calls and a message reading “Answer your damn phone.” It was all from Monarch. This sort of urgency was rare from him. She called him, grateful for another merciful distraction from the press packet. He picked up immediately.

“There’s a workshop downtown called “The Forge.” Meet me there,” he said. It sounded like he was on the move.

“Since when do you start barking orders at me, I’m away from my phone for a few minutes and you start blowing it up,” she said.

“This is supposed to be a concise conversation,” he said.

“What do you need me for?” She said.

“I’ve got a contact that can help you, but he’s a very busy man,” he said.

“I’m working, can’t you rearrange or just tell me what you find out?” she said.

“I feel like the conciseness is slipping further and further away,” he said.

“Then answer me,” she said.

“This is the guy I mentioned who knows all about the rings and Lanterns,” he said. Lena’s eyes widened.

“I’ll be right there,” she said, hanging up before he could get one last snide comment in. She hurriedly packed up her workstation, the immense satisfaction she should have felt closing the press document was overshadowed by her rush out the office.


	6. Workshop

The Forge seemed like a particularly dramatic name for a place that primarily serviced cars. Although the reason she was headed there in the first place and knowing Monarch, there were probably all sorts of secrets under the surface. She scrolled through her phone for some quick research. The reviews overall were decent, nothing sprang out as odd except for a lack of many recent reviews and peculiar opening hours. It was a short trip and traffic started building up. Satisfied she knew where she was going from her phone’s map, she got out to walk the rest of the way.

The area seemed relatively up-market. Either her own standards had dropped, or this was one of Monarch’s classier contacts. She had been tempted to wear glasses on the chance someone would recognise her, but the weaving around and pushing past her made it clear no-one was interested. In her early days of L-Corp she threatened there would be dire consequences for paparazzi, she was joking of course but a perk of being a Luthor was no-one wanted to take the risk. Some braver souls were asking about Cat Grant these days, but these people soon realised they would get more news about it from a brick wall.

The Forge appeared before her. The distinct smell of engine grease wafted to her nostrils and she peered down the driveway. Sitting above it was a sign, spelling out “The Forge” in tools like a scrap work art-piece. There was not much to it, no side entrance or reception and the driveway doubled up as a corridor. Knowing time was a constraint, she did not bother looking around for Monarch and followed the short entrance inside. It branched out to two platforms lifts, both of which had cars atop them. Underneath was a man with a clipboard. His blue overalls stood out in the barren, grey space. Picture-less brick walls surrounded them with a blinded door and window at the back.

“Sorry, I’m all booked out for a fair while. Leave your name and contact details on the sheet and I’ll get back to you when I can,” he said, the man pointed to the sheet without turning around or looking away from the cars. The sheet was almost full and a miserable looking pen dangled beside it, if she were actually here for a service she would be out of luck.

“That’s not what I’m here for,” she said. The man’s head turned sharply. His back was still toward her. She caught the his eye when he turned, a pang of familiarity hit her. He chucked the clipboard onto a nearby workbench, it spun in the air like frisbee and clattered when it landed. He was tall man with an intense look about him.

“You’re the one Smith mentioned?” he said.

“Know-it-all in a hoodie? Smug grin that makes you want to smack him?” she said. She was sure Monarch did not mention any of his different names out for his own bizarre amusement rather than any form of secrecy.

“That’s the one.” He pulled a rag from his back pocket and started wiping his hands.

“I’d shake your hand, ma’am, but you wouldn’t want to get your hands dirty,” his hostile tone was something Lena had no intention in backing down from.

“It’s no problem,” she said, stepping forward. She put out her hand and stared right into his eyes. The intense scowl only broke for a moment as he looked down at her offering. He took it, shaking slowly and firmly. After pulling away, she rubbed her hands, doing what she could to disperse the grease without ruining her clothes.

“What do I call you?” she said. He walked over to the workbench and reached into a drawer. He tossed her clean rag.

“Fletcher. Now if you don’t mind, I need a minute,” he said, he strode toward the door at the back. It slammed, shaking the blinds. Lena did what she could to see through them, getting right up to the glass and squinting. As she searched for gaps or a light-source inside to give anything away, the blinds suddenly opened. She stepped back, holding her heart in shock. It was Monarch, holding onto the cord with one hand and giving her a friendly wave with the other. She exaggerated a bemused look at him. Fletcher stepped over, somehow his grimace was even more intense, he yanked the cord and the blinds violently swished shut. The conversation inside was too muffled to make out. Fletcher already has some sort of issue with her, if he found her eavesdropping any further it would only make things worse. She trusted Monarch, or this case, Smith, to make it work. Not content to be idle though, she moseyed over to the workbench to see if there were any clues to her situation. There were the bits and bobs that one would expect on a mechanic’s desk. Various tools, a clamp and sprays were lined up. They did little to catch her interest, however a couple of invoices and parts orders were strewn across it. She checked the blinds were still closed before taking a closer look. The services certainly seemed to be on the pricier end and there were some serious pieces of kit on the list for somewhat average looking cars. The messy signature at the bottom of them was hard to make out. “Fletcher” sprang out in the mess of lines, but the first initials just seemed to be a series of squiggles. She heard the door handle press down and quickly backed off from the bench. There was distinct pause and one last muffled sentence before the door creaked open. Smith stepped out with Fletcher close behind, his scowl still going strong.

“So… the pleasantries.” Mark, this is Lena, Lena this is Mark,” Smith said.

“Fletcher.” He spat out.

“Personally I think The Artist Formerly Known as Prometheus has more flare,” Smith. Lena double took as Fletcher groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“We just said we weren’t going to tell her,” Fletcher said.

“No, you said you weren’t gonna tell her and I said, “you do you”,” Smith said. It all added up, the eye, strange feeling of familiarity and the hostility immediately made sense.

“This is the man that attempted to destroy my business and kidnap me,” she said.

“You think I’d have agreed to this if he told me you were his contact?” Fletcher said.

“Why’d you think I didn’t tell you?” Smith said, calm as ever. “Besides I never said it wasn’t Lena Luthor.”

“Enough pedantics, what was the point of all this?” Fletcher said. She should have been more annoyed, having grown used to Smith’s ways softened the blow somewhat. It was also amusing seeing someone else deal with it for the first time.

“Oh, come off it. She would obviously have found out, then there’d be a big “how can I trust anything you’ve said” brouhaha. Then someone would have to give a dramatic speech or sad origin story just to get back to square one and personally, I’d rather not waste anyone’s time,” he said. This was met with silence as both Lena and Fletcher stared each other down. Lena refused to break first and could feel the contempt drilling into her from those grey eyes of his. Attention to each other was ripped away as a wrench clanged to the floor, the sound bounced around the room.

“We done with our petty squabble?” Smith said. He picked the wrench back up and put it in its place.

“He’s dangerous,” Lena said.

“She’s corrupt,” Fletcher said. Smith rolled his eyes.

“For goodness sake. He’s got information for you and she’s got the ear of Supergirl. You both have something each other needs, we’re short on time here so let’s have that pragmatism you’re both so fond of rule the day. You don’t even have to stop hating each other when all is said and done,” he said. Lena’s eyes darted from Smith to Fletcher.

“What do you need Supergirl for?” She asked. He seemed reluctant to speak at first.

“She has power she doesn’t understand. She needs to stop,” he said.

“It’s not a burden she takes lightly,” she said.

“It’s not her commitment I’m questioning,” he said.

“See, now we’re getting along,” Smith cut in.

“Your turn to talk is over.” Lena said, then turned back to Fletcher as Smith backed away. “What are you questioning then?”

“Her methods are growing more violent. That ring will always test her self-control, if she loses that test there’s no telling how much damage she can do,” he said.

“She knows when to pull back and calm down,” he said.

“But the drive to do harm is there,” he said.

“I won’t let her go too far if that’s what you’re worried about,” she said.

“That’s not something you can promise,” he said.

“Then help me understand. Tell me everything you know about the ring. All we know is that anger is the source of its power,” she said. He sneered at her.

“Compromise, Mark,” Smith chimed in. He switched his sneer to Smith, though his expression lightened shortly after he thought to himself.

“Rage fuels that ring’s power, but that’s not what drives it. Controlling her anger is one thing, but vengeance is that ring’s goal. The more people someone has wronged the more it’ll call for their blood and as her rage builds it’ll be harder to push away,” he said.

“But she’s mostly been able to keep a lid on it, when she feels like she begins to slip. She stops,” she said. Lena would defend Supergirl, but in the back of her mind she was worried. That drive for justice she had had only grown over the past few weeks. While it could be a replacement for revenge, there was a scary possibility that she was seeing those two as the same thing.

“It’s not that simple. That ring is powerful and has a will of its own. It can pick up on the anger and intentions of people from galaxies away. Hell, If it’s personal or someone she cares about is in danger, it will overwhelm her. With her level of power she can appear anywhere within seconds and react in all sorts of terrible ways before she's even had time to think,” he said. Lena scoffed.

“You’re awfully certain about something that never seems to have happened. Besides a few injuries here and there, no-ones been hurt,”

“There’s been more injuries, devastating ones at that, and collateral damage in this past couple months than her whole stint as Supergirl combined. Even then, her level of control is unheard of, she will either burst like a dam under the weight of that ring’s will or something new is happening with the Red Lantern ring and it needs to stop,” he said.

“She’s the strongest person I know, don’t underestimate her” she said.

“The Red Lantern technology was created after the Guardians of the Universe were the cause of an accident that killed the creator’s entire race. We’re talking about eons of hate and tech even the most advanced societies couldn’t even dream of creating. It’s not something you can simply deny through strength of character,” he said.

“I said, don’t underestimate her,” Lena said.

“She may be in control now, but her relationship to that ring is close. Not to mention the knock-on effects. Her own symbol intertwined with the corps’ and her ability to make constructs will not go unnoticed by the other Red Lanterns. The fact she has her sanity at all means at least some of them have seen her,” he said.

“Think I missed a step there, Mark,” Smith chimed in. He had planted himself on a nearby stool and was noting everything down.

“When you first accept the ring there’s nothing but pure, uncontrolled rage. It’s not until you’re enter the blood pools of Ysmault… the Red Lantern origin world, that they gain any semblance of self-control back,” he said.

“And constructs?” He asked.

“There’s no records of any Red Lantern ever able to make them, except her,” he said.

“Cool, I’m back up to speed,” Smith said, making more notes. Lena had almost forgotten he was there.

“Well maybe Supergirl has found a way to make it work for her,” she said. Fletcher shook his head.

“Rage sits on the end of the emotional spectrum, it isn’t something you simply make work for you,” he said.

“So what does all this mean. Supergirl doesn’t seem to follow any of these rules you’re talking about” Lena said. Fletcher thought for a moment and sighed.

“I don’t know, it’s something we need to find out, and fast. If Supergirl slips into these regular rules, it won’t just be her who’s at risk,” he said.

“So there’s a “we” now,” Lena said. Fletcher ignored her.

“Whatever it is you’re doing to keep her in check, keep at it. If she loses control it’s bad news for all of us. More importantly, find out more about what drives her and how she operates the ring. If we can eliminate these unknowns everyone will be safer and maybe we can keep the other Red Lanterns away from this planet,” he said. Lena nodded slowly, it was a lot to take in. As Fletcher looked up to the clock on the wall, his face dropped.

“Anything else we should know?” Smith asked.

“Most definitely, but I’ve already stayed here longer than I should,” he said.

“I have more questions,” Lena said. She felt like she was only scratching the surface.

“We can wait, he can’t,” Smith said. He hopped off the stool and made a move tot the exit.

“You don’t speak for me,” Lena said. She tried to look round Smith as he stepped in front of her.

“I really do need you to go,” Fletcher said, he sounded more hurried than contemptuous. She gave up and let Smith usher her out.

“I’ll be back,” she said.

“See, you’re practically best friends now. Bye bye Prommy,” Smith said.

“Fletcher,” he said through gritted teeth. He watched them go, then darted into his office. Smith led her across the road and stopped around a small corner, peaking back at The Forge.

“Another fast and confusing interrogation,” she said.

“I feel like that was more of a chat,” he said. Lena wanted to be annoyed, but she learned a lot and expected nothing less from her bizarre friend.

“Firstly. He works at a place called The Forge and you call yourself Smith? That’s just lazy. Secondly, you could have told me your contact was Prometheus.” He was about to speak but Lena cut him off.

“And if the next words out of your mouth are “I never said it wasn’t Prometheus.” I’m going to slap you in the face,” she said.

“Sometimes, the names choose themselves,” he said, switching to a sheepish look. “As for the Prometheus thing… it didn’t seem relevant?”

“Didn’t. Seem. Relevant,” Lena sounded out the words, cocking her head and staring daggers at him.

“Look, I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure he could help. Just so happened I didn’t find out with enough time to ease you into it,” he said.

“You could have told me on the phone,” she said.

“Would you have come?” He asked, his nervousness immediately dropped to a look of curiosity. Lena paused.

“Probably,” she said.

“Colour me convinced,” he said, taking another peak around the corner. It earned him some strange looks from passers-by.

“How does he know so damn much about this anyway?” she said.

“You’ll know soon enough,” he said.

“Well I…” she started.

“Wait, shut up,” he said.

“Excuse me?” she said, some genuine annoyance making its way through.

“Look look look,” he said. Exhausted by his refusal to slow the pace, she gave up and peaked around with him.

Fletcher was shutting up shop, it was hard to believe such an unassuming-looking man had done so much damage. He pulled down the garage door with one hand.

“Come oooon,” Smith muttered. Lena kept watching, unsure what to look for. The garage door got stuck a quarter of the way down. After yanking at it a few times to no success, he looked around. They both instinctively whipped back behind the corner as he turned to their direction. After a few seconds they peaked out again. Fletcher pulled his other hand out of his pocket to bring the door down with a thud.

“There, right hand,” Monarch said, pointing. Lena got a glimpse of a large ring before Fletcher’s hands quickly returned to his pockets and walked off. Lena’s mouth was agape.

“Was that… green?”


	7. Downtown

“Yep,” Monarch said.

“Him?” Lena said.

“Still yep,” he said.

“How is he a Green Lantern?” she said.

“It makes sense if you think about it,” he said.

“That’s not funny,” she said. Monarch looked around, weary of people passing in the street. He once told her out in the open the wrong people would be listening if you were not moving. As if walking made all the difference, following his logic could be tricky at times.

“Going back to your office?” he asked.

“Sure,” she said. While it was partially to indulge Monarch’s theory, she was mainly saying whatever she needed to get on with the conversation. He went at a sauntering pace down the city streets, the traffic had died down so cars and pedestrians alike were easily overtaking him. He had this way of moving that had such an ease to it, the heavy footfalls, engine revs and busyness of his surroundings slid off him like he was meditating alone. That demeanour of moving slow but thinking fast always stuck with him.

“I wasn’t trying to be funny,” he said.

“I can’t tell if you’re still winding me up or not,” she said.

“Well look at what he’s done…” he started.

“Arson and attempted kidnapping?” Lena cut him off. He raised an eyebrow at her, she let him carry on.

“He saw something he thought was wrong and did something about it despite having no personal stakes. He also more than went out of his way to make sure no-one got hurt in the process. Hell, he jumped into the fray with a Kryptonian to save your arse even though you’re the one he hated most,” he said. Lena grunted.

“He’s still hardly heroic,” she said.

“Yeah but I don’t think heroism is what the green rings look for, if anything the fact he’s less than a paragon of virtue says more to me. The ability to listen someone else and walk away from what you worked so hard for because you realise you were wrong. Sounds like a willpower home run to me,” he said.

Lena grunted again.

“Well Supergirl let him walk away because she was convinced he was a good man with poor priorities. And more importantly, Lena Luthor’s approval isn’t a requirement for a Green Lantern,” he said.

“You’re seriously not surprised Prometheus is a Green Lantern?” She said. His points were valid and she had forgotten that it was Kara’s judgement of his character that had him roaming free. It was still difficult to believe.

“Oh don’t get me wrong, I only found out about the Green Lantern thing a few days ago and laughed about it for five minutes straight,” he said. Lena slowed to a stop as his words echoed in her mind. Her brow furrowed and her puzzled look changed to a glare.

“Tell me, when you say specifically that the Green Lantern thing was a few days ago, does that mean you were already talking with Prometheus for a long time beforehand?” She said. Monarch’s lack of an immediate answer told her what she needed to know. She guided him out of the crowd’s way and continued to glare at him with hands on hips.

“What constitutes a long time?” He said, his eyes shifted, knowing he had been rumbled.

“How long after he ditched the armour before you found him?” She asked, knowing pretty much exactly how it would have gone down, with Monarch casually approaching Fletcher and dropping the fact he knew he was Prometheus on him like it was nothing. Her foot tapped impatiently, the anger was mostly an act. He would know this too, but it helped get the point across. Monarch’s tongue rolled around his mouth before he gave in.

“Two days,” he said, his face switched to a pained expression. Even after all their time together, speaking in straight truths could bother him.

“Of course it was,” she said, refusing to be surprised.

“Shall we?” Monarch said, beckoning them to get moving again. She obliged.

“Go on, now the cat’s out of the bag I’m sure you’re eager to tell me how you found him so easily,” she said.

“You’re so good to me,” he said with a skip in his step. For a man so reluctant to speak plainly he was always so happy when he got to explain his methods once she was in the know. There were numerous times he had listened to her ramble on about Kara or L-Corp so she liked to throw things his way in return. The fact she usually learned a thing or two from how he operated was a nice bonus.

“Being honest, two days wasn’t that quick considering how much I had on him. Someone who can operate and repair armour that advanced, get people to follow his cause and organise them so well is already a rarity. Add the fact I had a first name and knew his face, the job practically did itself,” he said. Lena nodded, she had never taken the chance to properly analyse Prometheus’ armour. It was on her list of things to do, but other projects had been thrust at her which took higher priority. Dabbling with Kryptonite provided by Clark, Sam’s arm and Nth metal had taken up her lab time.

“So which way did you find him?” She said.

“Supergirl actually did me a big favour on that one, albeit unintentionally,” he said.

“Go on,” she said.

“Apparently when she’s all raged up or whatever, that ring runs hot. In their scuffle she accidently branded that Red Lantern symbol on his face. I correctly assumed his first step would be finding someone… unofficial... who could heal the mark, the last thing someone trying to lay low wants is something so identifiable,” he said.

“Let me guess, the unofficial people that operate what is probably unsanctioned alien healing tech, don’t exactly adhere to doctor-patient confidentiality,” she said.

“Your grasp of the city’s seedy underbelly gets better every day, I’m so proud,” he said. She raised an eyebrow, knowing that he was deliberately being patronising but making it clear to him it went unappreciated.

They stopped at a crossing, she leaned round a taller stranger in front of her to see the red light. As they waited she started to zone out. She winced when picturing the ring burning into Prometheus’ face, she could hardly imagine the pain of a heat that searing. Becoming a Green Lantern was probably the last thing on his mind at the time, if he even knew what one was. Kara seemed to have made a habit of changing people for the better, even with the ring’s negative influence. Her expression dropped as she considered a new train of thought.

“What are you waiting for,” Monarch said, confused as she stood in place with stationary cars and the green signal glowing at them to walk. She crossed quickly to make up for being lost in her thoughts.

“All of this emotional spectrum talk and the fight for the control of the mind. You think Supergirl’s ring could affect others as well?” She said.

“What are you getting at?” Monarch said.

“Well Fletcher takes a ring to the face and next thing you know he’s a Green Lantern. Could there be a correlation?” She said. Monarch scrunched his mouth to the side.

“I dunno, Prom never seemed particularly conflicted and that willpower of his was always there. It was clear from the off he wasn’t your average nutter. That and from what we know, Green and Red Lanterns operate totally separately,” he said. They turned a corner, the L-Corp tower in all its glory popped into view. Even so far off she liked to think it dominated the skyline.

“What about Sam and Reign? Two minds in the same body, one visit from Red Lantern Supergirl later and Reign totally vanished from her head,” she said. Monarch turned to her, his presence still somehow so free from the surrounding cacophony.

“You know, that one’s not a bad theory…” he said, starting to contemplate it himself. “Looks like you have more homework to do. You could ask the Super what went down that night.”

“Oh that won’t be fun, she’s particularly sensitive about her dealings with Reign,” she said.

“Well, you know what you’re doing. I’m not going to tell you to risk your relationship with her, but If that ring of hers can counter the World Killers so directly it’s probably the most valuable thing on the planet,” he said.

“Yeah well, it’s just a theory,” she said, happy that it at least appeared she knew what she was doing when it came to Kara.

“A damn important one, you have to pursue it,” he said with a surprising amount of intensity.

“Alright, don’t get too excited,” she said. Monarch caught himself, seemingly embarrassed to have strayed from his laid-back nature.

“Sorry, I just want this World Killer problem to be dealt with,” he said. He had shaved since they last met, but the fatigue was still distinctive on his face. His sporadic tendencies and relentless casual tone made him hard to read, though it was starting to seem like it was shifting to a front rather than his natural behaviour.

“The cult starting to get to you?” Lena asked. She was so used to telling Kara to give it a rest that it barely occurred to her that Monarch could also be running himself ragged.

“In a way, their blind worship of something they know so little about…” He stopped. “You don’t need to worry about me. In fact while we’re on this topic I have more information for you.”

She was concerned how unsubtly he had steered the conversation away from himself. For now she would let it slide, especially as relaying new information was undoubtedly something he loved.

“I finally got in on, for want of a better word, a sermon of the cult. It was mostly boring stuff about how great Krypton is, but then some spiel about the judgement of Krypton descending kicked in,” he said, his walking pace picked up suddenly.

“Judgement? Did they mean the World Killers?” She said, his ability to weave through the more crowded areas of the street so effortlessly made it hard to keep up with him. He turned to where she was before as if he had not noticed his quickening pace. He slowed down and slinked closer to the edge of the pavement where there was more space.

“One to drain the land, one to cleanse the land, one to shape the land and one to rule it,” he said in an exaggerated voice, presumably impersonating the cult leader. The wording was specific, it lined up that the four to pass Krypton’s judgement were the World Killers.

“Reign sought to dominate and kill basically anyone who would stand in the way of her world order. Sounds like ruling the land to me,” she said.

“Leaving drain, cleanse and shape as the unknowns. It isn’t much to go on, but if some trends start cropping up in Supergirl’s shenanigans that could match one of those then we’re in business,” he said. Lena nodded, an idea cropped into her head she knew he would not like.

“Supergirl can’t exactly fully concentrate these days, especially if all she’s doing is chasing revenge around for people. I’ve already got a thousand things to keep an eye on. The best people to go to are probably the DEO,” She said. Predictably, Monarch scoffed at the mention of them.

“The more information those clumsy dolts have the higher chance they’ll screw something up,” he said.

“I’m just saying, Supergirl and the press that follows her won’t be focused enough to put together the data you’ll need. If it’s trends in crime or disasters that could match those words you’re after, that’s exactly what the DEO can look for,” she said, Monarch grimaced. She carried on, determined to find a way to let him ease his own workload.

“You’re good at what you do, but they have a lot of resources that you don’t,” she said. Monarch stopped and looked up at the sky. He pulled a pencil from his pocket and started fiddling with it. He was oblivious to the world, Lena moved to the side. He remained in place, letting the current of people work around him. After some time of fidgeting and sighing he side-stepped perfectly through a gap in the crowd to join her.

“I can’t believe I’m actually considering this,” he said.

“If you don’t I’ll set Kara on it, you need help from somewhere,” she said.

“I don’t need help and you need to keep her as far away from this as possible,” he said.

“Don’t give me that. You’re exhausted and frustrated. I know you’ll never slow down so you need this to cut yourself some slack,” she said. Monarch’s eyes narrowed at her.

“Fine, as long as it means Kara stays away I’ll let some rumours float around for the DEO to pick up on,” he said. Despite his begrudging tone, Lena was pleased with herself. Looking after Kara was already difficult at times, heading this off and giving Monarch ways to look after himself felt important. In a strange role-reversal, she felt the need to throw in a line to ease the tension as Monarch’s expression hardened.

“Besides, if you burn yourself out then I’ll just keep beating you at the pool table,” she said. A laboured grin appeared at the corner of his mouth.

“If we didn’t have things to do I’d insist on righting that cocky attitude in The Cheshire right now,” he said.

“We’ll go soon,” she said, looking up to the ever-approaching L-Corp building. “But you have rumours to start and I have rumours to stop,” she said.

“Cat Grant on the brain?” He asked. She shot him a look, it was a natural reaction drilled into her not to say anything.

“Message received,” he said. She watched him disappear down a side-street.

“Good luck,” she said under her breath, before adopting that sauntering pace he was fond of toward the distant tower.


	8. Press

The flurry of bored faces would have been a delight if Lena was not nearly falling asleep herself. Even though her speech she was short, she had succeeded a little too well in making it bland and uninteresting. She was stood in a small room in the CatCo building, it was already ridiculous to her that there was a room dedicated to press conferences let alone the fact she was standing behind a lectern. If she had anything of actual importance to announce it certainly would not be in some weird imitation of the presidential press briefing room. 

She tapped at the lectern and looked over her audience. Every chair was filled and a crowd had formed at the back. They were all journalists selected specifically by CatCo’s board. She saw it as a weak move she at least did not have to face a grilling from the likes of Lois Lane, although if she were in the room it would at least be a more interesting use of her time. The frantic scratching of pens had slowed down over the course of the speech. One by one they realised she had no intention of giving them anything noteworthy. The smaller scale did have its advantages, it reduced the risk of being interrupted by shootings of explosions that people made a habit of in her more open appearances. It also meant any idiot with a twitter account would not be there to twist her words, though it looked to her like some of the people invited to this room were no better than said idiots.

She wanted to rest her head on the lectern when she stopped talking. Jimmy Olsen, who was thrown in charge of this event stepped in from the side.

“Miss Luthor will now field your questions,” he said. Lena’s heart sank as hands shot up and the rabble leaned forward. It occurred to her making the speech longer might have made people want to leave faster, her ability to get to the point had betrayed her. She lazily pointed at someone in the front row, mostly ignoring the fight for attention. The first question was neither challenging or controversial and the following questions were of the same nature. She was answering on autopilot, thinking of the more useful things she could be doing. The responses she gave had just enough information to address the main point but were measured enough to keep the room from erupting. Before throwing her finger out to the next eager face she spotted someone sidle into the room. In front of so many, Lena knew not to give anything away but was intrigued when Kara half-heartedly joined the scrum for attention. A small shake from Kara’s head when they made eye contact made it clear she was just doing it to blend in. She went back to answering more questions, it required no thought. Handling herself in this environment was so simple that her idling brain could not help but think of Kara now she had managed to get herself here. Talking to her about the ring and Reign would be a struggle, her preferred tactic of just going for the jugular could be disastrous given the circumstance. Scenarios and conversations raced through her head as she kept on fielding the questions, barely even listening to her own words as she tried and failed to come up with any way to gauge these subjects in any detail from Kara without risking what they had. She racked her brain trying to think of a way to come at the problem sideways.

The whole charade was reminiscent of the time Lex was arrested and she came out with several hundred ways to paraphrase the fact she was not her brother. Even the way she stood at the lectern was part of the show, looking professional while also keeping a stance that conveyed how this was a total waste of time for all involved. She picked another reporter and the inevitable happened.

“Rumours are circulating the delays in your acquisition are solely due to Cat Grant’s interference, how would you address these claims?” If anything, it surprised her that it took this long for her to be mentioned. She stole a glance at a stoic and uninterested Kara before answering, she had been close to Cat, and Lena was still slightly weary of how Kara felt about the acquisition.

“Miss Grant’s passion for her former company shines through when she speaks, that passion should not be the basis of any assumed actions on her part,” she said. The rumours were technically baseless, no real evidence surfacing helped quell the wilder speculation. Unfortunately, a lot of the wilder speculation was actually true as Cat Grant fought tooth and nail at every step. If she had any interest in drumming up trouble for Cat Grant it would take very little effort. This opened the floodgates on related questions, her heart sank as it would probably double the length of the boring question time.

Kara’s semi-permanent scowl easily cut through the crowd. She had never mentioned Cat Grant or Mon-El in detail after getting the ring. As ever, it was hard to tell if this was the ring consuming her thoughts or if Kara closed off that side of herself. Until Kara came along, Lena had been convinced that closing off feelings and appearing cold was a source of strength. That attitude still had some use, such as standing at a lectern surrounded by reporters. Even with this, now she no longer saw that as her true self or something to aspire to. It was strange to her that their roles seemed to have shifted, now she had to try and teach Kara the same lessons. The added factors of the ring and needing information on Reign complicated things to no end.

One by one, the questions fell by the wayside. Any enthusiasm from the crowded room had died down and Jimmy took his cue.

“Miss Luthor will answer one more question,” he said. This instilled a bit more energy as the scramble for attention stirred up. It was hard to imagine something that had not already been asked five times. She picked someone out, barely registering whatever media outlet they came from. He was a young man who stuttered slightly as he spoke.

“Miss Luthor, you’ve inferred from your speech and answers today that there is truly nothing out of the ordinary about this acquisition. If there’s nothing wrong then why hold a briefing like this at all, is it fair to say this is damage control?” He said. It was a gutsy question from someone who seemed so nervous. Without skipping a beat, she answered.

“As you’re all very aware, there’s a lot of misinformation and wild speculation about this whole process. Today I sought to clarify the reality that everything is above board and being professionally handled,” she said. A few more notes were jotted, but the room seemed content. She stepped back, a few people tried barking more questions at her as she strode out, but it was hardly more enthused than usual. The doors were opened for her, Jimmy followed her out. The express elevator awaited and the top floor would provide a respite from the media circus. Jimmy had big smile on his face when the doors closed.

“What’s got you in a good mood?” she said as they jolted upward.

“With the way you handled that, the board might finally get off my back,” he said.

“Yes well, that last question hit a little close to home. Just because I gave them nothing to talk about, doesn’t mean there won’t be talk,” she said.

“Well as long as Cat doesn’t kick up more of a stink we should be fine,” he said. Lena was amused as his face dropped, the mere idea of it worried him so much.

“Let her rant, all it does is show off her desperation,” she said.

“You should be more scared of her,” he said. Lena did not even bother responding. She was made distinctly aware of Cat’s methods when she first inspected CatCo’s structure and senior staff. It was baffling to her how they respected what seemed to be a system of bullying and fear. In the companies Lena ran, anyone who thought intentionally pushing someone to their breaking point just to see if they could handle it was a good idea would be out the door in seconds. Sink or swim was a phrase she heard far too much when the board defended their old CEO. It did not occur to any one of them that all it did was burn out the best workers and scare off or break those with potential. Show care and attention, if you need to be firm, always remain fair. That was the philosophy she was going to drill into this company. There was nothing Cat Grant’s bullying style could do to knock her off course.

“Now that’s done, is there anything else you need from me?” She said, there was a bit of venom in her voice from her train of thought. She promptly expelled it from her mind and focused on the present.

“It should be okay, I’ll be able to keep the board in check now and will keep pushing things through,” he said.

“You sure? I can always take over the L-Corp side of things if that’d make life easier,” she said, hoping he would refuse.

“No, you’re a busy enough woman and that new C.F.O. of yours is a dream to work with,” he said. She was pleased he had unwittingly obliged and it was good to hear her most recent major hire was working out so well.

“Are you implying I wouldn’t be a dream to work with?” she said.

“No… well I…” Jimmy started, nervously looking up at the floor counter as if it could provide him with an escape.

“I was kidding, Jimmy. Keep at it, I know CatCo’s safe in your hands,” she said, messing with him was almost too easy at times. He breathed a sigh of relief.

The doors dinged open.

“You go ahead,” she said. Looking over to the regular lift. “I imagine Kara showed up to see me.”

“How is she doing these days? Whenever I try to contact her she doesn’t answer or gets all distant on me,” he said. Lena paused.

“She’s been better,” she said. Jimmy nodded slightly.

“If you ever need help, just ask,” he said, reluctantly moving off to his office.

Lena ignored the busywork around her, she folded her arms and her foot tapped away as the other lift was slowly making its way up. Sure enough, Kara was amongst a small group of people funnelling out of it. Officially Kara still worked at CatCo so had free movement around the building. Lena had shifted her job to a “freelance consultancy position,” it was a useful work-around for the fact Kara did very little CatCo work. Nowadays She spent all her time being Supergirl or being forced to take a break.

“Hi Kara,” she said with a smile. Kara mildly acknowledged her before walking straight through to Lena’s office. Lena stood bewildered for a moment before making her own way over. The door creaked gently as Lena pulled it shut. This office was far less impressive than her one at L-Corp, it was set up for her as a temporary space but as the weeks dragged on with little progress for CatCo, the dinky office remained. Apart from moving her favourite stapler here, she had little attachment to it.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” Lena said, shutting the door behind her. Kara sat on the desk.

“Clark wanted me to pass on a message, apparently he doesn’t have your phone number,” he said.

“He’s heroically protecting me from the onslaught of Lois with that particular move,” she said. Kara seemed disinterested.

“He wants you to know Sam’s ready to leave the fortress,” she said. Lena stopped herself from reacting too much. Reign dismembered Alex and nearly killed her, now she was sitting here relaying the message to help that same woman.

“Tell him to bring her to my National City facility right away, they’ll know the place,” Lena said. She wanted to move on this quickly in case Sam changed her mind again, however the opportunity to talk about Reign had been dropped in her lap. She stopped for a moment, Kara rubbed her own cheek and glanced around the room. Lena wanted to leave it be, it was a tough call between her feelings and understanding how to deal with the World Killers. After brief deliberation she decided to go for it.

“Are you okay with me helping Sam like this? I mean I know you’ve said it before but…”

“My grudge was with Reign, not Sam,” Kara cut in. Her monotone delivery contrasted with her apparent mood, Kara wrung her hands and glanced down to where the hidden ring was.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she said. Regretting her decision to ask about Reign.

Kara nodded silently. Lena had to get moving but leaving Kara alone while she was like this was a bad idea. Too much time in her own head could just wind up making things even worse, especially as she had tried to get her to confront her feelings on Reign and World Killers in such a rushed manner. Jimmy was just next door, but he did not know the nuance of the situation and Kara would likely shut him down. As she started gathering a few things an idea hit her. Any logical thought process told her how incredibly stupid it was, but it could be just that rogue element she needed. Someone with a fresh take and could speak as an observer from the outside looking in.

“Look, I have to go sort this out, but I want you to talk this out with someone,” she said.

“Lena, seriously, I’ll be okay,” she said.

“Humour me,” she said.

“Fine,” Kara sighed.

“You know that underground alien bar with no name that you like?” she said.

“I’ve not been in a while,” Kara said, her scowl replaced with a suspicious look.

“Meet Oddball there,” she said. Kara’s scowl immediately returning.

“You have got to be joking,” she said. Lena expected this response and being honest with herself, she would do the same in Kara’s position.

“Please, do this for me. I know you don’t like him, but he might be able to help you if you give him a chance,” she said. There was an instinct within her that was sure this could work out somehow despite all the reasoning she could think of against it.

“In what way, it’s not like he knows to reassure me or calm me down,” she said. Lena briefly debated telling her he had sussed her out.

“You can talk to him as Kara,” she said. Kara shot a look of disbelief at her, if anything the idea was so ridiculous to her that it did not stir up any anger.

“Just give him a chance, he’s done a lot for me and could do the same for you,” Lena said. She did not want to be too forceful about the issue, if Kara ultimately made the decision to accept more help herself it would be a big step forward.

“I’ll think about it,” Kara said, she threw her a side glance. “How will he even know to meet me there?”

“Trust me, he gets about,” Lena said. Lena looked back, she did not want to stall any more as Sam was on her way. “Look, I’ll be free for you soon and if you don’t want to do it that’s fine. I only want to see you beat that thing and I genuinely think he can help. If I’m wrong, then that’s fine too and we can move on from there.” Kara did not respond again, the disinterest on her face had all but vanished and it seemed her mind was racing. She was probably trying to put together whatever reasoning Lena had when there was little to be found.

“I’ll talk to you soon, I promise,” Lena said.

“I’ll hold you to that,” Kara said. Lena wanted to move in and hug her, but Kara looked too distracted. She rushed out the office, hoping Kara would not dwell there on her thoughts for too long. When she got to the lift and it started making its way down she whipped out her phone, Kara had looked to wrapped up to try any super-hearing. She scrolled down he contact list until Monarch popped up. He picked up quickly.

“Is this going to be a useful call?” He said.

“Possibly, I need you to go to an alien bar,” she said.

“How very specific,” he said.

“It doesn’t have a name, it’s an underground place. Off-shoot from the city centre…” she started.

“Dumpsters, poorly lit, terrible graffiti, insist on a ridiculous password? I know the place,” he said.

“You don’t need more information than that?” She said.

“All the other bars that fit the bill aren’t dumb enough to go nameless,” he said.

“Great, go there,” she said.

“Is there a reason for this, I could be busy,” he said.

“You can make things happen wherever you go,” she said.

She strode out of the lift and weaved through the reception area, the lab she needed wasn’t too far away.

“Was that meant to be a compliment?” he said.

“Who cares, get a move on,” she said.

“That place is garbage and I’m still not hearing a reason to go there,” he said.

“I need you to talk to Kara, she likes it enough there. Either that or I could recommend a nice fermentation place for you,” she said.

“A what?” he said. She stopped herself from chuckling at the disgust in his voice at the mere mention of such a place.

“I have places to be and she shouldn’t be alone right now,” she said.

“Aren’t there people she actually likes who can babysit her?” he said.

“Probably, though you provide her someone to be annoyed at, which might be exactly what she needs. Besides, Reign’s on her mind and we need to find out about. She won’t want to risk her real feelings on it with me and my job is to keep her reserved and happy,” she said.

“And she already doesn’t like me, so prodding at the whole emotional spectrum thing isn’t a risk to you or her,” he said.

“That’s the idea,” she said.

“But is a risk to me,” he said.

“That’s your problem, besides when has risk ever stopped you before?” She said. Monarch made a vague sound of agreement at her.

“So, she knows I know about her extra-curricular activities?” He said.

“Nope,” she said.

“So let me get this straight, you want me to immediately go over to a bar I hate, prod at the sensitive, emotional topics of a Red Lantern who already doesn’t like me because you can’t think of a way to do it yourself, all while not revealing and working around the fact I know who she really is,” he said.

“Pretty much,” she said.

“Right…” he said.

“Well you can tell her you figured it out if it’ll help,” she said.

“Where’s the fun in that?” He said.

“So you’ll do it?” She said.

“I get the feeling I don’t have a choice,” he said.

“You don’t, I already told her you’ll be there,” she said. He groaned at her.

“Also, she might not turn up at all,” she said.

“This is a flimsy plan, even by my standards,” he said.

“If this doesn’t end up helping both her and you, I’ll concede that pool game you lost so embarrassingly to me,” she said.

“I know you’re trying to manipulate me with that one,” he said.

“And it worked didn’t it?” She said.

“One hundred percent, I’ll make my way over now,” he said, he hung up. If anyone could make this work, it was Monarch. Despite the many things that could go wrong with what she just set up, she could not help but be hopeful about it. It was in motion now so there was little reason to dwell on it. Her mind wondered back to the daunting task of fixing Sam Arias and let her back in to the real world.


	9. Recovery

She checked the machine for what felt like the hundredth time. How these people with super-speed always managed to take so long was beyond her. Everything was still in order, it was not like the last few seconds would have made any real difference to the tech. This inability to stay still for any significant amount of time was brought on by the combination of boredom and weary anticipation. She had no hesitation when it came to helping Sam, that was not what had her fiddling with calibrations and looking over all the old scans. Coming face to face with Sam at full strength again could set her off in any number of ways and acting out while Sam was feeling so vulnerable could be detrimental to her significant progress. She could only hope her troubled mind would behave itself.

She stepped away from the machine, fidgeting with her hands and taking deep breaths. She tried to find comfort in the lab, this particular one was an underground complex for her personal projects. Few people knew it existed and only she had full control of who could enter. The lack of any natural light seldom bothered her as the bright bulbs and reflective panelling gave the room a shine that she liked to work in. Lena had been meticulous in keeping everything sterile. It was standard practice, but her recent work with Kryptonite had made her paranoid that even the slightest speck could be catastrophic. Superman had provided some Kryptonite for her in the hope it could produce something to combat the World Killers and give Kara a chance to be free of the ring. It was a short-lived idea, for whatever reason Sam’s biology was radically different to the average Kryptonian. Anything Lena produced would be no more effective than regular weapons. The only additional feature they would have would be a menacing, but ultimately pointless, green tint. It was upsetting that it did not provide an easy answer to the World Killers, though the discovery of Kryptonite’s relative uselessness had been a stark relief. Even having done it before, developing weapons never sat right with her.

She considered packing up the various beakers and equipment that was lying around. There was even a mug here or there, all sat clean and unused. The intention to get a drink for herself always got interrupted by her work, sometimes she would work for hours on end without realising she was hungry until the lab coat came off. It was common occurrences like this that destroyed any effort she would have had to put equipment away after she cleaned it. There was a time she considered bringing Kara in as a lab assistant. Giving her something to do in the breaks she felt forced to take and an excuse for Kara to spend less time alone would have been ideal. Kara had not seemed to have minded about the Kryptonite. It was her work primarily involving Sam that made it too much of a risk. She doubted Kara would completely lose control, but Lena feared for the lives of her innocent lab equipment.

A buzz faintly rung around the space. This alarm only went off if someone had been loitering outside the entrance for long enough. The only way through was to have Lena’s thumbprint. An unmarked door in an obscure corridor on the ground floor of an L-Corp research facility had the privilege of largely being ignored. She made a point of checking the monitor to see who was waiting. Ninety nine percent of the time it was who she was expecting but she had been caught out once. Having been distracted by her work she had emerged without checking and come across a startled employee who had only been looking for a quiet part of the building. It turned out he had been hiding from his ex who also worked here. Luckily enough he had been too distracted by his relationship worries and the CEO of his company suddenly chatting to him to question why Lena had appeared from an inconspicuous basement door. As the monitor flickered to life she saw that this time it was indeed Clark and Sam waiting patiently. She made a mental note not to call him Superman at any point, the multiple identities thing was exhausting to put up with, she dreaded to think what it was like to live it.

She pressed her thumb against a scanner and the doors opened, there was a small stairwell down to the lab itself and Lena could hear the two sets of footsteps echoing down.

“Evening,” Clark said.

“Welcome back,” she said. Sam walked beside him, she said nothing and seemed absent. She had plaited her red hair back in a long ponytail. It swung gently from side to side as they reached the last step. Lena’s nerves only flared up slightly, being in her own lab and having Clark around made the whole experience a little easier.

“So, do you want me to talk through what will happen or do you just want to go for it?” Lena said, eyeing the machine from across the room. Sam let out a long and loud breath.

“Let’s just get this done,” she said. Lena was quietly relieved she could focus entirely on the task at hand. Her lab coat fluttered behind her as she strode over to the machine. With a press of a button the platform extended from the cylindrical chamber.

“Lie down on here,” Lena said. Clark had taken up the role of keeping Sam comfortable which allowed Lena to look everything over unhindered. The hundreds of moving parts and small mechanical arms sprang to life, all visible through the transparent casing at the top. It self-diagnosed all its own joints and operations. It was a process Lena had already checked far too many times, but she wanted to look busy as Clark helped Sam onto the platform.

“We’re right here with you,” he said. They both knew it was not the procedure itself that had Sam so on edge, but Clark had a way of speaking that could put you at ease no matter what he said.

“Stay as still as you can,” Lena said. Sam nodded and swallowed hard. Lena flicked a switch and Sam’s platform retracted into the chamber. Red light glowed out and bounced around the lab’s white walls, these scanners tracked Sam’s position and took biological readings. The mechanical parts got to work shortly after. Lena watched the diagnostic readings in case she had to step in. The moving parts whirred away, adjusting to even the slightest movement from Sam. Sam was breathing heavily, even with the transparent panels it could be claustrophobic in that tube. Small mechanical arms pressed a joint against Sam’s shoulder, it covered the uneven stump and provided a base for the prosthetic itself to attach too. Sam winced as it was clamped in place and dozens of needle-like tendrils adjusted it to an ideal fit. These needles retracted and more small arms took their place, they tested the security of the attachment and scanned to make sure all the elements had been implanted correctly. Everything looked to be in order and the machine’s displays were showing ideal readings.

“We’re halfway there,” Lena said, Sam gave a hesitant nod and Lena initiated the second phase. The rest of the arm lifted out from a compartment beneath the machine and more mechanical claws dragged it closer to Sam’s new shoulder joint. There was a series of clicks as it was pushed in and twisted into place. Sam had a distant look on her face, probably trying to zone out from the sounds and unpleasant sensations this machine was inflicting on her. A series of unsettling bolting noises shot out from the tube as all the miniature claws and tools attached the arm. The last few testing arms returned to prod at the seals and joints, satisfied, they pulled away and disappeared into the machine’s various compartments. One final scan glowed at Sam before it powered itself down and provided Lena with an overview. The machine was happy with itself, claiming a negligible margin of error. Sam did not seem to be experiencing any pain or nausea. Lena extended the platform back out and Sam quickly sat herself up, planting her feet firmly on the ground. Lena could not help but smile at what she saw, the sight of sharp equipment drilling away so close to someone was nothing compared to the smile on Sam’s face. She was overtaken with awe as she admired the new arm. She stretched out her fingers at twisted the it back and forth to take in the full extent of the sleek design.

“It feels just like the real thing,” Sam said, unable to take her eyes off her hand as she continued to move it around. Clark looked equally impressed. Relieved nothing had gone wrong with the machine or her own concentration, Lena let them admire the arm and grabbed a wayward mug from a nearby worktop. She filled it with water and held it out for Sam, who instinctively reached for it with her natural arm.

“Don’t you want to try out the new one?” Lena said, glancing down at it. The jet-black materials were in stark contrast with Sam’s white skin. Neither her or Doctor Dyer had found an organic looking covering that did not compromise its functionality. Sam looked to Clark, who gave her a thumbs up. She grabbed the mug by the handle and took a sip, the movement was natural and clean. Alex Danvers’ regular check-ups with her own prosthetics had provided much more data and efficiency in the calibration process.

Sam could not control her smiling as she fiddled with the mug, she laughed slightly as she threw it up a few centimetres and caught it. Her mood was infectious as Clark and Lena grinned away as well. The anxieties she felt drifted away at seeing the elation.

“I’ll need to run a few more tests, but you can be out of here soon,” Lena said. She tried to hide it, but Sam’s face dropped slightly.

“Will it take long?” Clark said.

“The scans don’t show any errors and her fine motor control seems to good, it shouldn’t be long at all” she said.

“That’s great, I’ll give Superman a call to give me a lift back to Metropolis. Once I get the green light from you we can talk to Ruby about moving back to National City,” he said, smiling toward Sam. She forced and enthusiastic look back that promptly disappeared when he turned away. Lena escorted him to the door, scanning her thumb to let him out. She walked with him up the first few steps, waiting for the sound-proofed doors to close behind her before speaking up for any prying ears.

“Are you sure you want to get Ruby involved so quickly? Sam still seems a bit doubtful,” she said.

“I don’t think it will take long living with Ruby again to push those doubts away, but I see your point,” he said, scratching his chin.

“I’ll talk to her as I do the final few checks, then I’ll let you know one way or the other,” she said.

“Are you alright being so personal with her on your own?” Clark asked.

“I can manage,” Lena said.

“You’re sure you don’t want me to stay, I could wait in this stairwell?” He said.

“I know how I can be around her. But I think that’s the very reason I’m the best one to talk to her. If I can stay calm it’d put her at ease,” she said. Clark nodded slowly.

“I’ll wait for your call,” he said going up the last few stairs. He turned back one last time “By the way, moments like this are why I’m honoured to work with you, your strength in your convictions is something to be proud of.”

“Thank you?” Lena said, unsure of what brought this on. Clark chuckled.

“Didn’t mean to spring that on you, but I’ve always found that you shouldn’t leave the positives unsaid,” he said. With a smile and a nod, he disappeared up the stairs. She looked back to the door below. That anxiety that had mercifully faded away started to claw its way back into her mind. She did her best to shake it off and wasted no time in stepping through.

“So… tests?” Sam said. She was still sitting on the machine’s platform.

“Tests.” Lena said.

“Is it really this simple, a few minutes and I’m back out there,” she said, watching her fingers as she stretched them out again.

“Well it’s been two months of building up to it,” Lena said.

“I guess,” Sam said. Prodding at her new arm. Lena wheeled over a slab of concrete set up between to clamps. She puffed away, even with slick wheels, pushing it along was hard work. As she set it up in a padded testing area Sam gave her a concerned look.

“What’s this?” She asked. Lena took a moment to catch her breath.

“Something I prepared earlier. We need to test the upper limits of that arm as well,” Lena said. Sam stood up, eyeing the concrete slab suspiciously. Lena took a pair of safety glasses out of her pocket, handing them to Sam before pulling out a pair for herself.

“Upper limits…” Sam said, staring at the arm once again. “It feels wrong to just be given my strength back like this.” There was a slight wobble in her voice.

“If we’d given you an arm with human strength you’d have had less control, the balance would feel unnatural and you would have a hard time controlling how much force to use,” Lena said.

“You know that’s not what I meant,” Sam said. Lena tensed up, even being fully aware a conversation like this would happen did little to quell her stress.

“That wasn’t you,” Lena said, Sam sighed.

“I guess.”

“Do you even remember what happened, was Reign ever really a part of who you really are?” Lena said.

“No… yes… I don’t know, there are flashes,” Sam said.

“Well was whatever you remember a conscious decision?” Lena said, already knowing the answer.

“No, but I was there for it all. Just because I don’t remember it, doesn’t make me innocent,” she said.

“Tell me what you know, what you saw,” Lena said, hoping that getting her to really think back would help her realise it was not her fault.

“Apart from the occasional image here and there I don’t properly remember any of it, the first thing I do remember was a lot of red, my body feeling like it was on fire, I’m one arm down and looking up at Superman,” she said. Lena’s throat was threatening to close up as the thoughts of Reign flooded her own mind. The mild pain was stuck there as she refused to let her voice crack.

“You don’t remember it because it wasn’t you, I’ve seen the scans and checked the data, whatever happened to you was out of your control. You can’t hold yourself responsible,” she said. Sam’s shoulders slumped and she stared at the concrete slab.

“I guess I can’t find the same comfort in science and theory that you do,” she said. It was not easy to hear, she knew exactly where Sam was coming from but could not say it. All her knowledge did nothing to help her own irrational stress and fear. Even saying it out loud did nothing to dissuade these feelings when they came about. Lena cleared her throat again, not wanting to show any of her doubts to Sam.

“I’m here to help you, as are many others. We all want you to know it’s okay to forgive yourself,” Lena said. Sam’s mouth pouted to the side. There was a long bout of silence as Sam wrestled with her own thoughts.

“So, what am I doing with this concrete slab?” Sam said. Lena hoped this was her first step toward acceptance.

“Punch it with the new arm, as hard as you can,” she said. Sam squared up to it, the look of doubt still plaguing her face. With a violent burst her fist crashed through it, shattering it easily. Shrapnel was sent flying into the test area and the clamps that had been holding it in place bent back. Several displays lit up with sensor readings as the rubble skimmed against the floor and smaller pieces rolled to a stop at the sides. Sam held her arm out in place, staring at her clenched fist.

“I’d call that a success,” Lena said. The aggressive stance Sam was in and the loud crashing made Lena want to freeze as her internal anguish ran rampant. She bit down hard on the inside of her mouth to keep herself in the moment.

“This kind of power around my daughter… it scares me,” Sam said, she did not look away from her fist as she spoke. Lena told herself to breath and keep a brave face, Sam was going through just as hard a time as she was. It was a gargantuan effort to hide the stress going through her mind, but right now Sam needed her. She walked up to Sam, took her by the hand and sat her down on one of the stools.

“The tests can wait, let’s just talk,” Lena said. She got her phone out, she wanted to let Clark know she would be a while longer. She unlocked the screen, there was a text from Kara.

“Oddball isn’t here” it read. She looked back to a distraught Sam. She sent back a quick reply with mildly trembling thumbs. Despite indirectly causing Lena’s pain, there was a solidarity between her and Sam. Both were dealing with traumatic experiences caused by Reign. Lena pulled up next to her in the hope she could ease some of that pain.


	10. Front

Kara carelessly tossed her phone onto the table, it bounced upside-down and clattered itself to a stop. Her drink sat untouched as she looked around the bar. Despite not coming to this place for a long time, it was largely the same. The barren interior and lively atmosphere was once quite novel to her, now she was only left with a simmering anger. It was to be expected, a few rough-looking types laughed and drank away around her. The ring’s drive was always pushing at her and there was no doubt some of the frequenters here deserved to be taken down a peg. She wanted to start something, encouraged by the ring’s near constant pressure. She had grown as accustomed to it as she could manage. What was once an incomprehensible chorus of angry shouting was now a low hum in her head, white noise that she could mostly ignore. She adjusted her stool and leaned her elbow on the high table, there were no free booths so she just watched them wistfully. None of them looked to be free any time soon as the glasses and bottles piled up at each one.

There was a vibration in her elbow, she looked down to a violently buzzing phone shifting itself along. She exhaled loudly and watched it come to a stop before bothering to pick it up.

“He’s probably running late.” It was hardly an inciteful text Lena provided her. She rested her head in her hand and watched the phone expectantly. She was not sure what she was expecting, the phone unapologetically locked itself from inactivity.

A small hairless man covered in dark spots started walking purposefully in her direction. It was not a species she had seen before, but with aliens becoming an increasingly common sight in the city, seeing new people was no longer a surprise.

“Couldn’t help but notice you were alone,” he said, there was a natural amplification in his voice, as if two people were speaking at once. Kara gazed at him, her hand still pressing into her cheek.

“That would appear to be true,” Kara said. The ring seemed to take little offense to the man, only an occasional angry blip surfaced from the hum.

“Might I ask if you want to be alone?” He said, eyeing the free stool opposite her. It was a good question, she regretted agreeing to Lena’s request the moment she left the office. What little enthusiasm she had for the idea had faded fast as she found herself waiting in a tedious bar for someone she did not like. Her willingness to give Lena the benefit of the doubt was the only thing that kept her on that stool and at this point, even that was hanging by a thread.

“I’m waiting for someone,” she said.

“Someone special?” The man asked.

“Sure, why not?” She said, keeping her flat expression.

“Fair enough, have a nice night,” he said, slinking off. He was at least polite enough to respect her disinterest.

After a few minutes of people-watching and weighing up whether to leave, her enhanced hearing picked up on another quick rapping on the door. She turned to it, sliding her glasses down the bridge of her nose. This time it was indeed Oddball that had found his way. The bouncer slid the partition open, Oddball looked at him impatiently.

“Can I help you?” The bouncer said.

“Open the door, Andre,” Oddball said.

“No password, no entry,” he said. Winn had told her tonight’s password was “ice-pick.” He knew not to ask follow-up questions or try and force her to go back on her decisions, which was more than can be said for Alex. She was meeting with her in a couple of days and was dreading it almost as much as Oddball’s arrival.

“I’m not giving you a stupid password,” Oddball said.

“Then I guess you’re staying outside,” Andre said. Oddball folded his arms and looked at him expectantly. Andre put his hand up to the partition but hesitated to close it. He stood up briefly and glanced down the stairs. Looking visibly defeated he unlocked the door and Oddball sauntered in. He stopped at the first step.

“Ice-pick,” he said with a wink.

“Why didn’t you… whatever,” Andre said with a groan. Oddball patted him on the shoulder.

“I wanted to see if you still had a soft spot for me,” he said.

“That’s a good way to go about losing it,” Andre said. He tried to sound gruff but was still flustered.

“Love ya too, Andre,” Oddball said as he made his way down. Kara reverted to her regular senses when Oddball’s feet reached the final steps. She was near the back, away from a band’s stage and obscured slightly by the other patrons. Oddball stood still, surveying the place with a grimace. He spotted her and caught her eye quickly. After a small wave he made his way to the bar, he was served quickly despite the busy surroundings. She listened in to his order out of curiosity.

“Beer, anything from another planet with a kick to it,” he said.

“Fair warning, friend, that kind of stuff is extremely strong,” the bartender said.

“I’m a resilient man,” he said. The bartender shrugged and filled a glass from an unmarked draught. Oddball put down a crumpled five-dollar bill.

“Keep the change,” he said.

“That drink is six dollars,” the bartender said. Oddball scowled at him.

“Of course it is,” he said as he reached into his pocket and slapped down another crumpled bill.

“Thank you,” he said. He weaved through the bar with surprising speed and grace considering he had a full glass. His timing was perfect, striding between people standing up for pool shots and gaps opening at the bar’s crowd. Kara looked up at him as the glass clonked down on to her table with only a few spilled drips rolling down the sides.

“Didn’t want to start without me?” He said, her glass dinged as he lightly flicked it. She grunted at him. The stool scraped along the floor when he pulled up in front of her.

There were hints of bags under his eyes but apart from that everything was as expected, a wide grin and a plain hoodie. The ring had no interest in him whatsoever, but behind his irritating quirks something always seemed off about him. She could never place why he made her so uneasy. After closing her eyes for a few seconds and wallowing in the ring’s hum she took a sip of her drink and spoke up.

“So what now?” She said.

“Lena didn’t go into much detail as to why I’m here. All I know is you’re in a bit of a funk and that apparently I can help with that,” he said. She took another sip of her drink, the overly-sweet taste tingled on her tongue for only an instant. The irony taste of blood in her mouth was a constant that only the strongest of flavours could fight through.

“She said that you’ve helped her, her thinking was you can do the same for me,” she said.

“You don’t sound convinced,” he said.

“I don’t want your help, this is a favour for Lena,” she said. He scratched his head and sniffed loudly. His eyes darted around the room, quietly observing his surroundings. From the broken jukebox, to the scrum at the bar and the band starting to set up, he seemed just to be taking it all in.

“I don’t know whether to be surprised that you like this place or not,” he said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She said. He smacked his lips and leaning his head in his hands, mirroring her.

“There’s layers to this place, I don’t know which one you’re on,” he said.

“Is cryptic nonsense what helped Lena?” She said.

“I’m making conversation. If you like, you can list whatever’s troubling you and I can nod meaningfully,” he said. One of her fingers started to tap away at her jaw. An impatient shout emerged from the hum.

“The constant double-speak, the lying and that smug attitude you sport. I don’t get how Lena thinks you can help me,” she said. Oddball did not even blink at the insults.

“Pulling no punches, I can respect that. I have my way of doing things, you’re wrong about the lying thing,” he said.

“Is that right, Monarch?” She said. A wry half-grin lifted on his face.

“I’m Monarch to Lena, Oddball to you. No lie there,” he said.

“One, if not both of those names are false,” she sat up and folded her arms.

“Who says I can’t be both? We all hide parts of ourselves, usually people hide the same type of things away. You and I probably have some similar secrets, or even me and that bartender over there. Sometimes it’s for convenience, sometimes it’s a necessity and sometimes it’s just fun.” He sat up as well and drummed at the table. “You can call that lying if you like, but I wouldn’t call it dishonest.” Kara slowly let herself relax again, her own experiences sprung to mind as he spoke.

“So, what is it you’re hiding from me and Lena?” She said.

“It wouldn’t be hidden if I told you would it?” He said, raising his glass and gulping down a sizable chunk of his pint.

“Well I’d say that gives me the right not to trust anything you say or do,” she said.

“More power to you for it, but I think you’d be stretched to find someone who’d reveal everything about themselves just because you asked,” he said. His reasoning was fair, but that niggling doubt she had about him refused to subside. She tried to tune into the ring’s faint humming, but it gave no insight to the strange man.

“Besides, I’m here because of Lena as well. You trust her, don’t you?” he said.

“I do, even she can make mistakes. If whatever hidden agenda you have hurts her then you’ll be sorry,” she said, another wave lashed out from the hum. She clenched her fist under the table, letting the frenzied demands wash back into it. He put his hands up.

“Ooh, scary. Lena is smart enough to know that I have my own life, she’s also smart enough to know that I mean her no harm,” He seemed to catch himself at this point, his tone dropped and his body relaxed again. “I suppose I should be more sympathetic, those parts that are hidden away can’t always be controlled. Hell, you’ve seen that first hand,” he said. Kara leaned back and her eyes narrowed again, she stopped herself looking down at her ring finger.

“I don’t know what you mean,” She said.

“Lena told me you were there when Sam became Reign,” he said.

“Right… yes,” Kara said, trying to downplay how she had reacted.

“I can assure you I have nothing hidden away that’s dangerous. And I obviously mean no harm. To be honest between the two of us Lena is far scarier,” he said.

“How is Lena scary?” she said, doing her best to make her scepticism of the idea abundantly clear.

“Seriously?” Oddball said. Kara looked at him like he was mad.

“Kara, this is a woman that bought one of the largest media empires in the country because she was bored. Apparently heading her own international company, research in just about every scientific field, philanthropy, answering fan-mail and losing to me at pool wasn’t enough to keep her occupied. She’s capable of anything, luckily for us you drew her compassionate side out." He took another swig of his drink. She could not decide whether that was a compliment to her or not, he carried on before she could pry.

“She’s an unstoppable force of will with the resources and brainpower to back it up. I’m just a man that happens to know a few things. I know who I’d be more scared of,” he said. Kara did not react, recently it had been easy to forget that Lena was more than just her counselling friend. Having her described in such a blunt manner served as a reminder as to how incredible Lena was. She started to cough as a pain in her chest spiked and the hum in her head got quieter. When her shoulders began to feel heavy she refocused on Oddball and let the hum back into her mind.

“Are you okay?” Oddball asked.

“Fine,” she said, lightly hitting her chest.

“So how much do you know about Sam and Reign?” she said, doing whatever she could to move on quickly. Oddball shrugged.

“Lena tells me things,” he said.

“Like what?” She said

“Apparently Supergirl gave her a nasty beatdown, I can’t tell you a lot more than that,” he said. Kara shifted uncomfortably in her stool. It was a vivid memory she very much wanted to put behind her. It was her determination to find out more that trumped these feelings.

“You know what I do for a living, I can always find out more for you,” she said.

“A reporter poking around one of the more unstable elements out there, probably not the best idea,” he said.

“I can be discreet, I’m good at my job,” she said.

“I’ve seen your articles. What I gather from them is that you’re very close to Supergirl. That’d just be more fuel for the World Killing fire. Unless you know more about the fight itself, that could be fun,” he said. Kara shifted again, clearing her throat and concentrating hard on the present. She could not let herself revert to the mindset of that day.

“What’s there to say, there was likely some punching involved,” she said. Oddball’s reaction was one of mild disappointment, she was not sure what more he wanted from her. He looked like he was about to ask more. She Ignored it and spoke before he could. “As for the relevant information, I can still help. Lena tells me you love to be in the know about this sort of thing,” she said, not wanting to press too hard. It was Supergirl that knew how deep he was in with the World Killers, not Kara. There was the option of telling him Supergirl told her, but there was always a risk of suspicion when crossing over that sort of knowledge. He stopped for a moment, he drummed the table and looked at her intently. The ring did nothing to flare up about or cause concern as to whatever was going through his head. She tried to focus on it more, she was determined to get some sort of rise from it. There was no such luck, the heat of her blood remained steady, the hum droned on at its usual level.

“If you want to get stuck in, Lena’s the one to ask. Isn’t she basically your boss anyway? I mean CatCo is like ninety nine percent her company now,” he said. Kara backed off, it was going nowhere and pursuing this angle was already going against Lena’s wishes. The faint hum buzzed at her louder and a few coherent thoughts of rage poked through the noise when she decided to let the matter go. She looked down at it, unimpressed. It had no reaction to the suspicious man she spoke with but had the nerve to flare up at her.

A long silence fell between them. The bar’s atmosphere started to rise and the band looked like they were about to get started, some people squeezed past their table in an effort to get closer to the stage. Oddball seemed to check his pockets as people brushed aside him, he also looked to be weighing up something in his head. She ignored it and finished the last of her drink, the bubbles had died a while ago and the flat drink had become quite sickly, the bloody taste worked in her favour as it quickly diluted the overload of sugar.

“You don’t like me because you don’t trust me, right?” Oddball asked.

“Amongst other things,” she said, that uneasy instinct of hers having never gone away.

“How about I chuck you a freebie, information for information’s sake? Could even help with that job of yours,” he said.

“Fire away,” she said, resigned to whatever avenue he was pursuing.

“I’m gonna guess you know about this place from a reporter, fed or cop,” he raised his voice as the music kicked in.

“That’s true, so what?” She said.

“Are you not curious as to how I guessed that?” He said.

“It’s an underground bar, word gets out,” she said.

“Word gets out,” he said with a smile. “And I’m sure plenty of helpful rumours have made their way to you here.”

“Where are you going with this?” she said.

“You, Kara Danvers, are sitting in a front bar,” he said, as if the statement deserved triumph.

“Should that mean something to me?” She said. Oddball scratched his chin.

“So that’s the layer you’re at,” he said.

“I don’t know why I’m still listening to this,” she said. He put his hands out.

“Okay I’ll clarify. There are plenty of illegitimate businesses and shenanigans, not all of them human, happening all over this city. They enjoy a certain amount of freedom,” he said.

“And?” Kara said.

“And, they have their ways of keeping that freedom. When nosy people get on their trail they’re subtly directed to a place like this. Places with a grungy vibe, inflated secrecy and alien element are enough to make these nosy people think they’ve found what they’re looking for. They feel in the know enough to stop looking, when in reality they’ve just found a crappy bar. A front bar, if you will,” he said.

“If that’s right and there’s this criminal cabal running the city, then why would they want a place like this to help the likes of me?” she said.

“You’re thinking like a reporter, that this is some grand conspiracy to be blown wide open. These are lots of different people going about their lives and running their own little operations. How do you think alien booze is in such plentiful supply when there are literally no local laws for interplanetary trading?” He said.

“You’re telling me alien moonshine operations are the primary source of knowledge in this city,” she said.

“Not just them, but yeah. I mean if the city is in danger, that’s bad for business. When one of these operations discovers something of note from their unknown position, they need a way to communicate it to the authorities without drawing attention to themselves. Direct anonymous tips conveniently turning up to the authorities every time something is off would be a trend people would start to notice. So instead, they let the information out in a place where they know nosy humans like to dwell, places like this. Bam, job done, front bar serves its purpose,” Kara looked around at the jovial atmosphere, the band began to play and bad dancing by the stage followed. Looking at it with this critical eye did make some of the roughness she had perceived dissolve away.

“The management seem happy to be endorsed by criminals,” she said with a sneer. Oddball scoffed.

“Please, management doesn’t know their bar’s role in all this. They think that an obscure location and no branding whatsoever is a smart business decision. Not even questioning how they can draw in these sorts of numbers,” he said.

“You’ve told me you know that places like this and others like it are tools for criminals to get rid of larger threats. I now trust you completely,” she said.

“That’s a level of sarcasm no-one deserves… and criminal is far too strong a word. I just thought it’d be something you’d like to know,” he said. Kara adjusted her glasses.

“Why tell me this, what do you serve to gain?” she said.

“You wouldn’t believe good will, would you?” he said.

“No,” she said.

“Well the moral of this little story is the rumours that flow to this bar help everyone, you included. Just because there’s some questionable things hidden under the surface, doesn’t mean you can’t trust it,” he said. Kara blinked at with a neutral expression, then looked down at her empty glass.

“I’ll get another round,” Oddball said, springing up from his stool before she had a chance to say anything. The mediocre band played on and Oddball effortlessly found his way to the front of the crowded bar. He had hardly endeared himself to her, but there was no harm in one more round.


	11. Intrusion

She had learned every inch of her bedroom’s ceiling. It had been weeks since she had slept, physical fatigue had gradually been stamped out by the ring. The hum in her head and the intense booms of her heart kept her body active at all times. She always hoped the weight of the duvet and resting in the darkness would do something to coax her mind to shut down. The inevitable restlessness had her switching between pacing around the apartment and further attempts at lying in bed, tossing and turning until she returned to her pacing once more. Her whole life had boiled down to taming her emotions, there was no escaping it except for the few times Lena could get through to her. Even if it never came, sleep could be another respite. Nothing would stop her trying.

She shifted onto her side, dragging the duvet with her. Oddball’s words were aimlessly running around her mind as sleep continued to elude her. Lena seemed sure he could help her in some way, but all he had done was accidentally make her ask questions about herself. As ever, toward the end of the night, Oddball had wandered off with only the vaguest of explanations. He was difficult to tolerate in anything other than short bursts, so she had been happy to let him go. He said little of significance to her anyway, playing his relationship with the World Killer investigation very close to his chest. He had pressed her several times on what he knew about Supergirl and Reign’s fight. She gave him nothing, besides her lack of trust she had no intention of reliving those memories. His dancing around the issue when she asked questions back was likely Lena’s request, but it made it no less frustrating to deal with. Everything else he had said mostly rung hollow, it was just the odd phrases and strange platitudes that got to her. What he had said about the bar was spinning in her mind, the multiple masquerades of it and unwittingly playing its part in a larger scheme. Layers stacking on top of each other until there was no real identity left. She had gotten to grips with her own similar struggle between Kara and Supergirl, but the thralls of the Red Lantern threw everything she had settled on into disarray. What she chose to hide from herself or others had become a total mess. The lines between these sides of herself were all blurring together and she had no idea if she was alright with it. Wrestling with these thoughts had kept her occupied all night, trying to come to any sort of conclusion or closure. Switching between staring up in the dark and wearing out the floorboards went on. Light had started to peak out from the horizon and was poking through the clouds, the sound of cars and commuters rose up as the whole city began to wake for the new day.

Her relative idleness was becoming difficult to handle, Lena would probably insist her break had not been long enough. As it stood, staying in her apartment with Oddball’s words stirring her up felt more aggravating than getting out there and helping people. The humming was also tugging away at her, demanding that its need for justice be satiated. As more hours went by her inner-voice turned to shouting, an unbearable need to get out of the apartment and fight was taking over. She shut her eyes tight and ground her teeth. She held out as long as she could but started to break when particularly strong calling flared up from nowhere. This episode had quickly grown stronger than most, it was refusing to be ignored and the hum became coherent words, beckoning her away. Meditation techniques Lena had taught her only served to delay the demands. Usually when the ring acted up she could let it pass or she had the fortitude to go to Lena before it could escalate. The heat of her blood rose and the distinct irony taste flooded her mouth. Her eyes shot open, the ring was glowing. There was no real choice, she untied her hair and in a flash, the Red Lantern Uniform materialised around her. The bold red burst out from her plain clothing, the outline of the hybrid House of El and Red Lantern symbol gradually emerged on her chest. She took off her glasses, taking a moment to look down at them. The calling came to her again. The crunch of the lenses barely registered as she crushed the glasses in her fist. With a laboured breath she made her way to the window. She opened it up, the breeze blew across her face and into her hair. A long and slow inhale rushed through her nose, she shook off the smell of exhaust and shot out the window. She left a red streak in her wake, following the instinct and her own voice. She had grown to trust this sense she had for crime and danger. It could be overwhelming, but when in control it was perfect for tracking where she was needed all over the world. She had been stuck at the whim and the knowledge of the D.E.O. before, rarely leaving National City. The ring had its terrible price but in its own strange way, granted her freedom.

This particular instinct for her intervention was close, she came to an immediate stop very soon after setting off. She was hovering over Metropolis, whatever drew her here was nearby. The sky was grey and the midday sun was still hiding behind the clouds, she was a shining red star in dull backdrop. The city showed no immediate sign of activity out of the ordinary. She honed her senses, listening and watching from high above. She let the ring’s influence into her head and it naturally guided her sight to a far-off mall. Gun-shots and screaming filled her ears, she sped toward the danger. She assessed what she was seeing in the split-second it took to reach the mall. There was a single man with a gun, surrounded by civilians on their knees. His face was partially covered with a red bandana, eye-holes were cut out of it revealing a glee to his actions. His laughter cut through the panicked screams of escaping bystanders as he fired off rounds aimlessly upward, no-one had been hurt and it was clear he was actively avoiding trying to hit anyone. A large bandolier was slung around his shoulder and bounced loosely against his muscular frame.

Kara crashed through the glass, not waiting for the automatic doors to slide open. To her chagrin he managed to point a pistol at a hostage’s head and the word “stop,” came out of his mouth. Even though it was all she wanted and the ring screamed for his demise, going for him was too risky. She was more than fast enough to get at him before the trigger was even pulled. The problem was the ring, she would have to come at a speed that would easily kill him. If the ring took enough control for that split-second, she would not slow down and the man would become little more than a stain on the floor.

She came to a halt, hovering a few feet in the air with her arms folded. He was pointing an assault rifle at her, but his other hand still had the pistol trained on a hostage.

“Superman was the one I thought would come, but you’re on my list as well,” he said. The ring’s disdain for the man was palpable. Even with her heart pounding violently in her chest, she was sound enough in mind to know when not to strike.

“You may as well give up,” she said. He said nothing, he only laughed at her. She narrowed her eyes, he was far too confident given the situation. She inspected the gun from afar, there were a lot of electronics packed into its scope, but it was the green glow from inside the barrel that caught her attention. She had to assume it was Kryptonite-based, unless the man was completely unhinged nothing else would make him believe he could take out her or Superman.

“I’m growing impatient,” she said. Sirens were coming into ear-shot, she wanted this dealt with before the police potentially escalated the situation.

“Well you don’t have to wait any longer, people will forever remember Bloodsport as the man who took down Supergirl,” he announced to the room. The hostages gasped as he pulled the trigger of the assault rifle. The thundering gunshot’s echoed in the open space and a surprisingly accurate spray of glowing-green bullets hurtled toward her. She made no effort to dodge or destroy them, her red aura simply glowed brighter as she activated her ring’s life-support shielding. The bullets evaporated, hissing into nothing as they impacted her shielding. She let out a small growl as the urge to retaliate burned in her mind and her blood began to boil. She forced it away, instead staying in place, unflinching with her arms still folded.

“You better have a plan B,” she said through gritted teeth. The smile on Bloodsport’s face dropped, his theatrics had backfired as he stared in disbelief at the barrel of his gun. Her ring could sense his anger rising, she was ready to get in the way of any rash shots at the civilians he might take. This anger quickly subsided and after shaking his head in a quick motion, he dropped his pistol and pulled a detonator from his bandolier.

“As a matter of fact, I do. There’s bombs strapped to more hostages all around this mall.” He pressed the button on top and held it down. It clicked and beeped as he backed away toward one of the shops. “And if I let go of this, they explode. Come anywhere near me or try to follow me and their deaths will be on your hands.” She glanced around the room, none of the hostages on the main floor were wired up to anything. She started to look through the mall with X-ray vision.

“Ah, ah ,ah. No peaking til I’m clear,” he said, waving the detonator at her. Kara growled under her breath and her pounding heartbeat grew stronger. The ring’s influence in her head was obvious, the temptation not to hold off on his punishment lingered in her mind. She glared at him, ignoring the urge to lunge at him and instead tried to read his face. He gave nothing away to show if it were a bluff or not, all she could do was wait. She switched to X-ray vision when he backed out of sight. The shop he was backing into had a back door to a smaller car-park at the side. His rifle’s scope was still trained on her, the amount of attention he paid to it suggested he could see her through the walls. She could not risk moving until he faced away. Her anger changed to confusion as a person quietly landed outside the exit and waited, she was not sure not to make of them as they appeared to have some form of wings. There was nothing she could do as Bloodsport still kept watch, ready to detonate the bombs if she did anything. When he reached the door, back-kicking it open, this person grabbed him from behind with surprising speed. Her eyes widened at the prospect of him losing grip of the detonator, but this person had quickly reached for his hand and held his thumb on the detonator. His struggling ended quickly, Bloodsport was no match for whoever had showed up. The opportunity had presented itself. She had little concern for how Bloodsport’s situation developed, all she saw was her chance to clear the bombs while the detonator was forced down. She sped around the whole mall, counting five people with bomb-vests in hidden away places like changing rooms and stock areas.

She whipped back around to a handcuffed and whimpering first hostage.

“He said if I moved it’d explode,” she said. Supergirl said nothing, getting in close to inspect the vest. It seemed unlikely anything would set them off but the detonator, Bloodsport’s escape plan would be worthless if they detonated prematurely. The explosives were all packed onto the front and none of the wiring extended further back.

“He lied to you,” she said. Taking off the vest while she was handcuffed would be tricky and though it was unlikely to set them off, she still did not want to risk more movement than necessary.

“I’m going to need you to stay as still as possible,” she said, extended her hand out. A beam slowly emerged from the ring and when it reached the explosives, a red bubble formed around them. She concentrated hard as the bubble formed around the back side, making sure to completely cut them off from the vest itself without going too far the other way and hurting the person. Whether this hostage’s ability to stay still and quiet was out of bravery or fear mattered little to her, either way it helped her close off the bubble and pull the explosives clear. She ripped the handcuff’s links apart.

“The police will be here soon,” Supergirl said.

“Thank you, Supergirl,” she said, rubbing her wrists. Without acknowledging her, she shot off to the next bomb-vest. She kept an eye on Bloodsport’s thumb with X-ray vision, whoever it was seemed to be doing very little except apart from speaking to him and holding him in place. She repeated the process for the remaining explosives, the hostages were in varying degrees of panic. One man was particularly distressed. She had no interest in calming him down so decided to hold him in place while she worked. She gauged the distance between the fabric and explosives better each time, causing the removals to become an efficient process. The sirens had risen and began to come to a stop as police began to mobilise outside, she spotted officers starting to run in and check on the hostages on the main floor.

She broke through the roof and flew high into the sky, dragging the five beams with bubbled explosives from her ring. Clear of any civilisation she shrank the bubbles away, crushing the contents inside. It was only when each of the bubbles had become very small that the bombs exploded, they were easily contained. Being crushed together at high speed and the heat from her shielding must have set them off as below, Bloodsport’s thumb was still held firmly in place. She found nothing after another quick sweep. Satisfied the immediate threat was dealt with, she turned her attention to Bloodsport. He was still being held close by this mysterious figure. Supergirl landed outside the shop he had backed through and slowed to a walking pace, wanting to get a full view of the situation.

The distinct black and red of the Red Lantern uniform immediately caught her eye, the red power ring twinkled in this person’s hand. She was right in the face of her victim. This other Red Lantern was a voluptuous woman with light blue skin, a winged hood and mask covered majority of her head. Menacing wings of bone stretched out from her back as she whispered in the ear of a worried-looking Bloodsport. She ran a sharp nail lightly down his face and kept her grip over his thumb tight. Supergirl upped her pace as her ring could feel a strong sense of anger within this newcomer.

“How many bombs are there?” Supergirl said, catching the attention of them both. Bloodsport almost seemed relieved to see her.

“How many?” she said again. Bloodsport appeared to come to some sort of sense again and spoke out.

“Four,” he said. Supergirl snarled at him and staved off the urge to attack, she heard a rise out of the other Red Lantern’s heart as well.

“I just disarmed more than four. Lying to me won’t end well for you,” she said.

“Those threats about tearing you limb from limb weren’t jokes, I can always rip off your hand and take this little toy of yours with me. Then we won’t need you at all,” The other Red Lantern said with a sneer in her voice. Bloodsport’s eyes nervously flitted between them.

“Okay, there’s five, that’s the truth,” he said. He yelled out in pain and fell to his knees as the other Red Lantern start pulling at his hand.

“I swear it’s the truth, five people, five bombs,” he blurted out. Supergirl was lost in his suffering for a few more moments before snapping back and grabbing the wrist of this other Lantern.

“I’ve dealt with five bombs,” she said. A brief flash of extreme anger came across this woman’s face as perfect teeth were bared at her. Their rings sparked and fizzled, though they died down quickly.

“If I hear any explosions, you’ll wish I’d just ripped off your hand,” she said, lifting her thumb. A distinct click came from the detonator, followed by silence.

“Good boy,” she said, just before cracking him in the jaw with a devastating hook. Supergirl felt a rush of ecstasy as Bloodsport hit the ground with a thud. She hesitantly stepped in front of the encroaching Red Lantern and kneeled over to check on him. He was still alive, though his jaw was almost completely displaced.

“That was unnecessary,” Supergirl said, not entirely convincing herself as she spoke.

“Don’t pretend you didn’t enjoy that,” the Lantern said, wiping her fist and checking her nails.

“I didn’t need your help,” she said.

“You’re welcome.” The seductive tone to her voice was accentuated by her uniform’s stylings. The top was a tight fit, her high boots had heels and connected up to her uniform like stockings. Her exposed thighs, bright yellow eyes and extensive wings of bone made her appearance even more striking.

“Who are you and what do you want,” Supergirl spat out.

“My name is Bleez, and darling, you’re just the woman I’ve been looking for,” she said.


	12. Aquaintance

“I’m not interested,” Kara said, wearily eyeing the new arrival.

“Without hearing what I have to say, after so graciously helping you?” Bleez said.

“I didn’t ask for your help,” Kara said, crouching down to inspect Bloodsport’s limp body. He was out cold. She had no remorse for his sickeningly loose jaw. His gun lay by his side, how he got a hold of Kryptonite-based technology was the burning question.

“Your brand of help means I can’t question him,” she said. Bleez chuckled

“He deserves to suffer, I’m making him suffer. What more do you need?” she said. Kara got distracted by footsteps. Police were making their way through and investigating the scene. Standing in a backdoor to the carpark with an unknown woman in a matching uniform was suspicious. Add a heavily injured Bloodsport and it would not be an easy situation to explain. For a moment she thought about grabbing the gun, but with an expectant Bleez and the encroaching authority she decided it was easier to get out of there.

“I’m leaving,” she said.

“So soon? We’ve barely even begun,” Bleez said, the timbre of her voice made every sentence sound teasing and flirtatious.

“You’ve done enough. Follow me, or don’t, I don’t really care,” Kara said. The other Red Lantern pouted at her, Kara held her gaze.

“Fine,” Bleez said. The hostages could identify Bloodsport and the gun would undoubtedly end up in the D.E.O.’s possession. If anything, it could be a useful topic of distraction for her meetup with Alex. She knew leaving Bloodsport alone with the Red Lantern was a risk, she found herself not caring and took off.

After initially bursting high above the clouds, she kept her speed quite slow. The ring was satiated for the time being and her mind was settling back to the low hum. There was also the fact she was in no rush to return to her apartment for more frustrated attempts at a break.

Before long the other Red Lantern had joined her. Their red auras shone brightly over the grey cloud layer. The stars twinkled above them as the inky black of space stretched out into infinity. As Kara flew, Bleez gently spiralled around her, the wings of bone were even more impressive gliding in the breeze. Knowing full well the ring could do all the work with flight, she was sure she had her wings on full display merely to show off.

“You’re awfully curt,” Bleez said, still spiralling around her flight path.

“You took a big risk letting his thumb go. If there were more bombs, innocent people would have died,” she said.

“He was too scared to lie to us. As you wouldn’t let me take his hand it seemed like a good compromise,” Bleez said, a quiet outcry emerged from the hum.

“Why are you following me?” Kara said.

“I haven’t had a “thank you” yet,” she said with a flamboyant flap of her wings. Kara grumbled to herself, wanting to steer the conversation away from the pointless prodding.

“Why are you really here? You’re the first other Red Lantern I’ve seen in a long time,” she said.

“It took me this long to find you, dear. As for why, you didn’t really think that little display of yours on Ysmault went unnoticed, did you?” She said. Kara’s eyes flitted away. Her time on that dreadful wasteland of a planet felt like an eternity ago. Without full control over her actions it had been a blur of heat, confusion and blood. It was one of the first things she remembered after Alex losing her arms and nearly being killed by Reign. She shuddered as she thought back to it and a sea of shouting rattled at her for a moment.

“I see it’s a fond memory,” Bleez said, bringing Kara back to Earth.

“I wanted to leave. I did. So what?” She said.

““So what?” She says,” Bleez chuckled with another flap of her wings, a gentle wave of air brushed against Kara. “You challenge Atrocitus, win, and only have that to say for yourself?”

That fight had been the most intense experience of her life, Atrocitus’ power was beyond anything she had known. The landscape of the already desolate planet of Ysmault took a severe beating when they went at each other. Some of the less attentive Red Lanterns had been caught in the crossfire of that fight. That raw power was enough to severely injure those bystanders. That same power had only slowed down Atrocitus until she got in a knock-out blow in with a construct. Due to her state of mind at the time and complete lack of knowledge of the Red Lantern Corps she had not thought much about that encounter since.

“I wasn’t challenging him, he was just in my way,” Kara said.

“Darling, I know you’re quite new to this, so I’ll spell it out for you. Any defiance to Atrocitus’ authority is a challenge. He’s always led the Red Lanterns and put anyone dumb enough to question that in their place, at least until you came along,” Bleez said.

“The squabbles for power mean nothing to me,” she said. Bleez swooped in front of her with gritted teeth, the flirty façade vanished and a look of pure fury burned at her. Kara stopped dead, her ring reacted to the outburst and Kara struggled to keep her thinking peaceful. She clenched her fists and met the glare of Bleez.

“You think you’re above this,” Bleez snarled.

“I am above this, you Red Lanterns and Ysmault are no concern of mine,” Kara said, speaking loudly and slowly in an effort to stay calm.

“There’s no “you” in this. Only “us.” You took that ring just like everyone else in the Corps,” she said.

“I use this ring to protect this planet, nothing more,” Kara said.

“You can deny it all you like, but as long as you wear that uniform you’re a Red Lantern,” she said. Kara’s whole body shook and her eyes began to glow, the ring was reacting fiercely to Bleez’s rage. Her heart began to boom and the boiling heat roared around her body. She sucked in the air through her teeth as she to level herself. She latched on to any calming thoughts she could muster. Bleez had backed off in fear, the fire in her eyes extinguished. Supergirl’s aggressive posturing had her cowering and bracing herself for an onslaught. Kara took short, sharp breaths and focused on the decreasing volume of her heartbeat, a pang of curiosity struck Bleez’ expression after Kara’s eyes faded and her posture returned to normal. She shook off and ran her hands through her hair.

“You didn’t hurt me…” Bleez said.

“Don’t push me like that,” Kara said, slumping and slowing down her breathing.

“First the construct, now restraint. No wonder Atrocitus is so scared of you,” Bleez said, still weary. Kara rubbed her forehead, no doubt the headache that had emerged was going to hound her for a while.

“Scared?” She said.

“Before your attitude… set me off...” Bleez looked at her ring. “I was intending to tell you that Atrocitus is very much up to something and you’re at the core of it.”

“I don’t want anything to do with him,” she said.

“You aren’t the only one, darling, but I’m going to have to hold that thought,” Bleez said, putting a finger up and looking intently into the distance. A green glow was hurtling toward them. “Your arrogance was getting to be enough for one day, now we have to deal with a Green one.” Kara raised her eyebrow at the comment, but let it slide as the Green blur got closer. This Green Lantern looked human, but as he closed in she saw he wore a different pattern to Hal Jordan and his features were covered by a full facemask.

“It’s bad enough one Red Lantern operates in my sector, imagine my annoyance when my ring tells me that another has shown up,” he said. His voice was familiar, but Kara could not quite place it.

“You’re not Jordan,” Bleez said, narrowing her eyes.

“It doesn’t matter who I am, what matters is what’s going on here,” he said. Kara stayed quiet, watching them both carefully.

“We’re just talking, I assume your precious Guardians wouldn’t have a problem with that,” Bleez said. Kara’s ring seemed to be picking up more anger from the Green Lantern than Bleez.

“My precious Guardians would have a problem if you Reds are planning something,” he said.

“Even if we were, I’d like to see a rookie try and apprehend us,” Bleez said, that tone of hers added heavily to the mocking vibe.

“I want no part of whatever this is,” Kara said. A narrow glare from Bleez cut through her smooth façade once more. Her smile returned quickly as the Green Lantern spoke once more.

“I won’t do anything unless you give me a reason, but I’ll be keeping a close eye on the both of you,” he said. Kara was frustrated that she could not place his voice, it was on the tip of her mind but just out of her memory’s grasp.

“Aww, the new Green Lantern wants to act tough,” Bleez said, folding in her wings.

“Don’t you have better things to be doing than throwing empty warnings at us?” Kara said, she could only hold her disdain for the Green Lantern Corps for so long.

“As a matter of fact, I do, but tread carefully Supergirl. The Guardians of the Universe are still watching Earth very closely,” he said.

“If you and your friends hadn’t utterly failed to find the Daxamite Prince, then Earth wouldn’t have this problem,” Kara said with a snarl. Bleez’s smile only grew wider when Kara spoke. The Green lantern folded his arms, it was hard to read his thinking behind the facemask. Whatever had popped into his head, he had decided it was not worth it.

“You try anything that’s a threat, I’ll be there,” he said. He flew off quickly, clearly wanting to be the one to have the last word. The Green blur faded into the distance. Kara groaned and turned to a smiling Bleez.

“What?” Kara said.

“Looks like you and the Green Lanterns have an interesting history,” she said.

“I don’t think I know that one. But Jordan and the Guardians think I’m too dangerous,” Kara said.

“Yes… News would spread quickly if Jordan had died… Two Green Lanterns per sector, it really is true,” she said, caressing her chin.

“Is there a point to any of this,” Kara said, reaching the edge of her patience.

“It would be another reason Atrocitus has been so busy,” Bleez said, more thinking out loud than speaking to her.

“Make whatever point you came here for, then leave me alone,” Kara said. Bleez rubbed her hands together and leaned forward.

“When you cast doubt on Atrocitus’ strength it caused quite the upset. Not only sheer power but the ability to summon a construct set you as a potential challenger to his leadership,” she said.

“How many times do I have to say I don’t want anything to do with the Corps,” Kara said. Bleez swallowed hard, Kara could sense that such disinterest was angering her.

“Doesn’t matter to them, and more importantly it doesn’t matter to Atrocitus. After you left he had one of his blood rituals and flew off, muttering about the constructs and expansion. His ramblings didn’t mean a whole lot to me, but he’s been travelling all over the universe to gather every Red Lantern he can find. I’m firmly in the belief he’s rallying them so he can kick you back into line,” she said.

“Why are you telling me this, what does warning me gain you?” Kara said, unsure whether to trust what she was hearing.

“As I said, dear, you’re a challenge to his leadership. There are a lot of us that would be glad to see the end of Atrocitus’ reign,” she said.

“And why’s that?” Kara said.

“There are those of us who don’t like how he operates, those of who are tired of his iron fist, and many of us who just plain don’t like him. It wouldn’t take much persuasion to get an awful lot of the Corps on your side,” she said. Kara did not like what she was hearing, whatever discontent had built up amongst the Red Lanterns had come to a boiling point and now she might be in the centre of it all.

“I am not interested,” She said, sounding out each word.

“You’ll have to be interested, darling. He’ll be coming for you sooner or later. With other members of the Corps on your side you might actually stand a chance,” Bleez said.

“This begs the question, like him or not it sounds dangerous to be seen with me. Why have you picked me over him if it’s such a risk?” She said.

“I’ve been a Red Lantern for long enough to know that change is needed. You’re the only one strong enough to bring it,” Bleez said. Kara sighed and looked out into the stars. She could only hope Bleez was exaggerating or being an alarmist. The last thing she wanted was Earth to be in danger because of some stupid grudge. Fighting Atrocitus one on one had pushed her to the limit, there was no way she could face him backed by the entire Corps of Red Lanterns. She reluctantly turned to Bleez. Her insistence had her worried this was less avoidable than she had initially hoped.

“What do you suggest?” She asked.

“You do the same as him. Find as many Red Lanterns as you can and convince them you’re the one to follow. With me by your side it’ll be an awfully persuasive pitch,” Bleez said.

“I can’t leave the planet. It needs protection,” she said. The World Killers took priority above all else.

“Oh, how noble,” Bleez said, sounding disappointed. “Although it also sounds like the Greens will start meddling if you get up to too much.” Kara rubbed the bridge of her nose, nervous of the consequences of getting more involved in the situation. She came up with a compromise that would both buy her time and hopefully not ruffle any feathers in the Corps.

“I want more information, go out there and gauge everything you can. Understand that this is not a recruitment drive, I have no intention of starting a war” she said. Bleez shot a playful smile at her.

“You may not have a choice, my dear, but I’ll see what I can do,” she said.

“I want you report back to me regularly, if conflict can be avoided I want to know about it right away,” she said.

“Your wish is my command, darling.” She said, she stopped to think for a moment. “How do I find you again? I know to look for you on this little planet now but it’s still quite the area to cover.”

“How did you find me in the first place?” Kara said, hoping for a simple solution.

“A lot of asking around and a bit of luck,” Bleez said. Supergirl frowned, it was an unhelpful answer. She considered having Bleez stay with her and giving her a phone, but until she had more information she wanted to keep this quiet and away from Earth. It was also a risk to show Bleez any of her life as Kara Danvers. For what it was worth she still tried to keep a degree separation between the mess of her identities.

“I usually reside in a place called National City, it’s on the West coast of this continent. To reach me, go there, say my name enough times and I’m bound to pick it up,” she said, making a mental note to herself to keep an ear out for Bleez’s distinctive tones.

“Very well, Supergirl. It’s been a pleasure,” Bleez said. She rose into the sky, stretching out her wings once more. Twisting upward, her red shielding ignited in a swirl of flame as she rocketed away. Kara floated in place and stared down at her ring, it glimmered at her. The burdens of the ring always found a way to grow.


	13. Friction

Waiting for Alex in her cluttered apartment was bad enough, but now her floorboards suffered even more pacing with so much to think about. The encounter lingered in her mind, Bleez was different to how she expected. Until now, Red Lanterns were supposed to be nothing more than chaotic and angry monsters. Even with her outburst, the way Bleez presented herself and spoke was in jarring contrast to how they had been described to her. It dawned on her how little she knew about the Corps she unwittingly joined. While there was no reason to believe everything she said, it would be worth spending more time with her to find out just how the others operated and if any were trustworthy. It was already apparent they were not a homogenous, united group. She briefly entertained the idea of asking Hal more in-depth questions. She bobbed her head to the side, mildly amused at the likely outcome of rocking up and asking if the Red Lanterns were not all so bad. With his apparent grudge against them, it would likely end badly regardless. The possibility of Alex asking him for her sprung to mind, though her view was as likely skewed as Hal’s. Alex had never accepted her decision to keep the ring and it felt like she would merrily blame just about anything on the Red lanterns. It was that attitude that sparked her encroaching dread whenever she agreed to meet with her. They had tried a few times before to smooth things out, it always ended the same way. Awkward small talk would build up tension and either Alex’s aggravation from not addressing the issue became unbearable or Alex would break, starting off the same circular argument. Even after these spats, Lena kept encouraging her to work something out with her.

She never really settled, constantly walked between the rug and the smooth kitchen area. She glanced up at her clock every few seconds as the arrival ticked ever closer. She weaved between the mess in her apartment knowing there was at least some satisfaction that this sense of dread was all her own and not the ring’s direct influence. She had to take little victories like that. A few minutes before that arrival time, she checked herself in the mirror. No disguises, no glasses, just a loose shirt and tracksuit bottoms, she hoped the casual look would disarm Alex a bit. This casual version of Kara was slowly being chipped away by the ring, she had a strong feeling Alex could sense that.

Footsteps echoed in the hall outside, the confident thudding of her approaching sister was unmistakable. Kara opened the door slightly ajar and took a seat on her sofa. She watched Alex’s final few steps, when she got to the door she noticed it was already open. Alex made a quick decision to just push it open and walk in instead of knocking. Kara stood up and forced a smile as her sister came toward her. One awkward hug later and they were facing each other on the sofa.

“Your arm control seems to get better every time,” Kara said.

“Yeah,” Alex said, glancing aside. Kara already felt like she was running out of things to say, she was annoyed at herself at missing saying hello to fill up even a few seconds more. After clearing her throat and an eternity of silence, more babble popped into her head.

“Will you be able to go back in the field soon?” She said. Alex met her eyes for a split-second and sighed, Kara could already sense she was holding back.

“Lena and her associate says they’re satisfied, but J’onn’s reluctant. He says one involuntary twitch of my trigger finger at the wrong time and… well you get the idea,” she said.

“It doesn’t sound like J’onn not to trust your judgement on something like this,” she said.

“Normally I’d agree, but the Guardians of the Universe won’t leave us alone. With Mon-El…” A brief flare of burning pain shot into Kara’s head, she closed her eyes hard and shook it off. Alex stopped herself after seeing the reaction that name got, but Kara beckoned her to continue.

“With him still missing, the Daxamite issue isn’t put to rest. The D.E.O. is under a microscope and J’onn doesn’t want to take any risks,” Alex finished.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Kara said.

“Yeah well… it’s hard on all of us. Pair the constant hounding from the Green lanterns and the fact you’re not with us anymore, it’s making us an easy target,” Alex said, failing to hide the disdain in her voice. Kara took a deep breath and let the ring’s reaction pass. She struggled to think of a topic of conversation that was neither too mundane or too inflammatory, it was a gargantuan task to skate that line.

“Well I stopped a guy in Metropolis armed with some sort of Kryptonite gun recently, hopefully that ticks off a problem on the D.E.O.’s list,” she said, the ring seemed to squeeze at her finger with the attempts to keep things light.

“Bloodsport. I saw your handiwork. His jaw was hardly attached to his skull,” Alex said, raising an eyebrow. Kara said nothing, now was not a good time to mention Bleez. Instead she just cleared her throat again. Alex’s eyes narrowed slightly, but she seemed to catch herself.

“But yes, it’s good we have him now, he managed to get that gun from raiding one of our trucks. Once his jaw heals, I can get more info on the other missing equipment.” Alex looked around, snatching eye contact and pulling away every so often as she spoke. Eventually she gave up and looked around.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen this place so messy,” she said. Broken lenses were still sitting by her miserable, dead glasses. Various books and failed distractions were strewn around the floor, the symptoms of a restless mind.

“I didn’t realise the D.E.O. even had any Kryptonite to steal,” Kara said, still trying to push the conversation forward.

“After Superman’s encounter with silver Kryptonite he let us into his stash, he said there had to be a contingency if something like that happened again,” she said.

“Is that why you tried to weaponize it?” Kara said, she was genuinely intrigued. Alex looked at her in disbelief.

“You think that’s the reason we’re experimenting with Kryptonite?” Alex said, her annoyance was picked up by the ring.

“I was just asking,” Kara said.

“The World Killers, Kara. We’re doing everything we can to prepare for them, how could you forget that?” Alex said, her temper was rising. Kara rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to will away a building headache.

“Right yeah. Well if it’ll free you up some time, Lena already looked into Kryptonite. She said its effects on them would be negligible,” Kara said. Alex glared at her in disbelief, her expression was hardening.

“What’s the problem now?” Kara said, unable to keep her voice calm. Walking this conversational tightrope was wearing at her concentration.

“You or Lena didn’t think to share this information? I’m… We’re doing everything we can to come up with a defence against them and it just slips your mind?” Alex said, standing up. Kara rose with her.

“Lena doesn’t tell me much, says it’s for my own sake. Hell, I didn’t even know the D.E.O. were experimenting with Kryptonite, why is it such a big deal?” She said. Alex was fuming, Kara‘s blood began to heat up.

“Because if we find something to fight them then we can get that bloody ring off of you and I’ll have my sister back,” Alex said, raising her voice. Kara felt the ring’s energy excite, she clenched her fists and sucked air in through her teeth.

“I don’t want to do this again, Alex,” she said slowly.

“Maybe I do, I’m scared for you and you always make out like I’m overreacting,” Alex said.

“I don’t need your protection. What I need is your support,” Kara said, immediately regretting it when she saw Alex’s face drop.

“You think I don’t care? You keep expecting me to support something that could crush your spirit or kill you?” Alex said. In a flash of red, Kara let out a shout and kicked a stray book across the room. She hit it with such force that she took a chunk of the floor out with it. Even with a soft cover, the wall cracked around the impact. The book bounced off and hit the floor with a light patter, flakes of paint gently drifted down after it. She could not bear to look at Alex, instead breathing heavily and staring at her newly damaged wall. Silence took over the space, only the background noise of the city drifted in. Neither of them moved.

Kara did her best to wind herself down, she hated being like this with her sister. Alex’s tenacity was usually inspiring, but her inability to let things be drove this wedge between them that was a nightmare to get over.

“Should I go?” Alex said, it was a surprisingly meek response for how things usually went. Kara released all the air in her lungs through her nose. Through the ring’s white noise, she heard Lena’s voice telling her that they only want what’s best for her.

“No, I don’t want to leave things like this… not again,” she said. Alex slumped back down to the sofa.

“Why does it have to be like this?” Alex said, staring off into the distance. Kara allowed herself some more time to cool down and the ring’s shouts to sink back into the hum. Her back was to Alex, she did not turn when she finally spoke.

“It’s hard for all of us, I hate all this waiting around… but it’s how things are. We just have to do our best to deal with it,” she said.

Kara could hear Alex flexing her mechanical fingers as she fidgeted on the sofa. She turned to her.

“It works both ways, as my older sister I know you’ve always wanted to look out for me,” Kara sat down and took her hands “but I can’t let something like this happen to you again. If I’m not strong enough everyone will suffer and that’ll be on me.”

Alex looked conflicted, still unhappy with the situation. However, the fact they were no longer shouting at each other seemed like a minor victory.

“So what now, we have some tea and pretend none of this is happening?” Alex said.

“If there’s anything we’ve achieved over the past few weeks, it’s proving that we’re bad at that,” Kara said. She picked up the book she had kicked, chuckling slightly as she looked at it.

“What?” Alex said, almost sounding worried. Kara tossed it to her. Alex looked down at it and a small smile came across her face.

“The Little Book of Calm.” She said. For a moment, Kara felt a weight on her shoulders, but she ignored it and went over to her kettle.

“The tea is a good start, but I don’t want to end up arguing again,” Kara said.

“I’ll leave if it’ll make things easier,” Alex said. Kara did not want to admit it to herself, but it was the option she wanted to take most of all.

“No, you just got here.” She paused to think, desperately wanting to make this work in some way. “I’ll invite Lena round, she might share some other findings with you and distract us from ourselves.”

Alex gave a noncommittal grunt, it was all the approval she needed. She sent Lena a message, neglecting to mention Alex’s presence. A reply that she would be right over came through quickly. There was a slight lull in the hum in the reassurance Lena was on her way. She looked back to Alex, unsure whether to fill the time between now and Lena’s arrival with silence or more uncomfortable small talk.


	14. Clutter

The small bursts of forced conversation had become too much for them both. The T.V. droned on to distract them, her mind was so pre-occupied that she had all but forgotten it existed. It was such an obvious solution that she was irritated not to have thought of it before. Nothing worth watching was on so it was the news that filled the void. They caught the last 10 minutes of a story about unexplained power-cuts in Metropolis, evidently it was a slow news day as a puff-piece on her uniform followed to waste some air-time. Kara had gone out of her way to pay no attention to the public’s take on her change. She was stuck this way so there was nothing to gain from looking into it and potentially a lot of anger to risk.

“They really do like to talk about you,” Alex said.

“They talked a lot about me before, now they just have a better excuse,” Kara said, she could barely hear it over the hum in her head. She stole a glance at the screen and saw they were running a poll on her uniform. She was disappointed to see how many people seemed to prefer the Red Lantern uniform over her classic look. It was the third option the poll offered that was most out of place.

“That’s not Supergirl?” she said aloud.

“I’m guessing that’s to appease the more paranoid viewers.” Alex said. Confusion appeared on her face as Kara shot a baffled look at her, Alex eyed her carefully. “Have you not been keeping up with this sort of thing?”

“Why would I?” Kara said.

“When you first showed up with this new-found power of yours there were a lot of theories floating around, new ones seemed to come in by the day. One of the more popular ones at the time was that it wasn’t you at all, bandying about theories that you were a government-controlled clone or an older version of yourself from a parallel universe. They called you Power Girl,” she said, finding it difficult to take her explanation seriously. Kara raised an eyebrow.

“Right… I hope that’s all died down?” she said.

“You know how it is, passing fancies and short attention spans. For a while there were panels and discussions about “The New Supergirl,” but interest faded as you went about your business,” Alex said.

“That’s a relief I suppose,” she said.

“Maybe. A couple of topics persist, your choice of clothing and…” Alex stopped herself. Kara squinted at her.

“Go on.” she said. Alex rubbed her forehead. “Out with it.” Kara snapped at the words.

“And how you’re a lot less friendly,” she finished. It sounded a lot like Alex was sugar-coating the situation, Kara pouted as the hum rose up. The sad fact was she tried to do the bare minimum amount of violence to keep the ring in check. Whoever these people were had no idea how unfriendly she could be if she lost even a small modicum of self-discipline. Alex switched the channel over to some trashy soap. It was for the best, she was right in thinking the media’s speculation would just aggravate her. These opinions could be another reason Lena insisted on her taking breaks, although the public eye was never something she mentioned. Lena either knew to avoid the topic or did not let such things sway her so easily. 

As if on cue, there was a light knock at the door.

“That was fast,” Alex said, looking at the door in disbelief.

“The perks of a personal driver,” Kara said, Lena had an uncanny ability to be everywhere at once. She was reminded of Oddball’s comments about how formidable a force Lena was.

Lena greeted her with a wide smile as she walked in before noticing they were not alone.

“Oh, hello Alex,” Lena said.

“Did Kara not mention I was here?” Alex said, noting her surprise.

“Sorry, was taken aback a little,” Lena said. She placed her bag down on the counter and pulled up a stool by the kitchen area. Alex shot her a funny look. The truth was Lena’s attitude toward the D.E.O. had become very cautious over the past month and she did not want to put her off.

“Is the tea still hot?” Lena said, breaking the pause.

“Not really, I can make you some more,” Kara said.

“No don’t worry about me,” she said, swivelling in her stool. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you in person, I hope the arms are treating you well.”

“They continue to amaze me,” she said.

“The more people I help, the happier I am, and I do love to keep L-Corp at the forefront of technology and research,” she said.

“Isn’t that the truth,” Alex said, shooting a glance at Kara. Lena was busy taking her coat off and draping it over a stool next to her. Kara leaned on the counter, she was less tense and more at ease with someone else in the room.

“So, anything planned or are we just here to chat?” Lena said, crossing her legs and looking her usual composed self.

“Kara thought we could use the company,” Alex said.

“Well, I’m glad you thought of me,” Lena said. Alex took a seat next to her.

“In fact, Kara was just telling me about some research you’ve done on Kryptonite…”

“Come on Alex, let’s not talk about work,” Kara did not like Alex’s tone or how she just jumped straight into it, however Lena put her hand on Kara’s with a smile.

“No, it’s quite alright. Yes, I was called upon to dabble with it, nothing came of it,” she said.

“Would have been nice to know, don’t you think?” Alex said. Kara watched Lena closely, she was tempted to interrupt again but Lena had not even batted an eyelid.

“If I found something significant I’d let you know. I didn’t want word getting out that a Luthor was messing about with Kryptonite,” she said. Kara’s eyes flitted between the two of them, she had invited Lena round to calm the tension. She did not need the ring to see that it was rising again.

“The D.E.O. are very discreet,” Alex said.

“Even if that’s the case, it’s an unnecessary risk. Time spent quashing such rumours is time not spent doing something useful,” Lena said, never dropping her perky mood. She turned away from the irritated Alex to address Kara, who had placed herself leaning on the kitchen counter.

“But as you say, let’s not talk about work. How are you doing Kara?” she said.

“Same as usual, very bad at staying still,” Kara said.

“I think that’s a trait we all share,” Alex said.

“You’re not still side-lined from fieldwork, are you?” Lena said. Alex nodded.

“I can send a personal message saying you’ve got the all clear if you like?” Lena said.

“That’s not necessary,” she said, hesitating slightly. “Thank you, though.”

A loud musical sting from an advert was enough for the T.V. to remind them it was on. Alex went for the remote. With Alex’s back turned Lena mouthed “Is everything okay?” to Kara

She gave her a small nod, though she was not sure. The ever-present hum was relatively quiet even with the ring picking up on how tense Alex was. Lena did not look convinced but decided to carry on as normal.

“So, what do the Danvers sisters like to do in their downtime?” she said.

“Feels so long since we had any real downtime, but there’s usually junk food when Kara’s involved,” Alex said, retreating to the sofa. Kara’s tongue tingled as she was reminded of such nights, simple times where the taste of blood did not taint everything. A weighty weakness pressed down on her, she gritted her teeth and focused on pushing it away.

“I’m never sure whether to be impressed or horrified at her ability to put away so many doughnuts,” Lena said, smiling as she turned to her. A worried twitch hit the side of Lena’s mouth as she noticed her dour expression.

“Sorry, lots of things on my mind,” Kara said.

“Have you read any of those meditation books I sent you, can really help you stay centred,” Lena said.

“They’re probably on the floor somewhere,” Alex said.

“Quite. I wasn’t sure whether to mention the clutter,” Lena said.

“It’s fine, I’ll be fine,” Kara said. As she spoke, Alex’s phone started buzzing away. She picked it up.

“It’s Winn, do you mind if I…”

“Go ahead, Kara said. Alex kept her voice low and walked away for some privacy. Kara was tempted to listen in, though she was stopped by a concerned Lena.

“Are you really fine, Alex seems… combative,” she said. Kara hesitated, she could feel the ring pulsing away at her.

“Things got heated. I didn’t want to give up though, it’s why I asked you here, I should have warned you,” Kara said, slumping down. As always, she was met with a warm smile.

“I’ll always be here for you when you need me, even if it means a grilling from your sister,” she said.

Kara nodded, another lull in the hum and a weight in her shoulders hit her. She looked away from Lena to focus on the ring, embracing the burning in her blood.

Alex came charging back and reaching for her things.

“I’m sorry to cut this short, some rumours that could involve the World Killers have come to the surface and I need to help follow them up,” she gathered everything quickly, but stopped at the door. She was struggling to find her words.

“This was pleasant. I’ll see you again soon yeah?” Alex said.

“Yeah,” Kara said. Lena waved at her as she went. She rushed out and very quickly it was just the two of them.

“Pleasant. Maybe you didn’t need me after all,” Lena said, not letting the quiet hang for long.

“We managed to calm ourselves down this time, but everything still feels off. She doesn’t understand,” Kara said.

“These things can take time, and it sounds like you’re making progress,” Lena said in a soft tone.

“I don’t know,” Kara said. She watched Lena stand up and start to clear up some of the mess in the apartment. “You don’t have to…”

“I’m here now, I may as well help out,” Lena said. Kara reluctantly stood up to lend a hand, she had grown accustomed to the disorderly nature. It did not take long for Lena to come across the dented floor and new crack in the wall. She ran her hand along it, saying nothing.

“How did things go with Oddball?” Lena said, not stopping at her task. She was not sure how to answer, she still could not quite process what he had said to her.

“He said a lot that didn’t seem to mean much, yet I can’t stop thinking about it,” she said. Lena laughed.

“He has that effect. Not sure what came over me to inflict him on you,” she said.

“Well if anything it burned a night of this wretched break, I still don’t get why you keep him around though,” Kara said.

“He’s resourceful. He’s also someone who comes across as so ridiculous yet can throw thoughts and perspectives your way that you never even considered. It’s a rare talent,” she said.

“If he’s so resourceful then why has nothing come up on the World Killers?” Kara said.

“It’s not exactly a simple task, Kara,” Lena said.

“Seems like the D.E.O. have found something, he could be lying to you about how much he knows,” she said. Lena had paused as she bent down to pick up another book. She seemed conflicted and her smile dropped for the first time.

“He’s definitely not as simple as he claims to be, but he’s gone out of his way to help me before and even if there’s a lot I don’t understand about him. I trust that what I gain from him is worth the risk,” she said.

“I could still look into it, it’ll give me something useful to do outside of this.” Kara said, holding out her ring finger. “I could also see if there’s anything he’s missed and double check if anything he says to you is a lie.” Lena frowned, she stood back up and gently took her shoulder.

“Please stay away from this, for your own sake,” Lena said with sorrow in her eyes.

Kara looked away, she could not shake her suspicion of Oddball and the growing need to take some sort action tugged at her. However, the ring was relatively quiet and having had enough of clashing with Alex she let it be. Instead she brushed off Lena’s hand and carried on piling things up neatly. Lena cleared her throat and took it as a sign the subject drop it altogether. With only odds and ends scattered about and no particularly intricate messes, it did not take long to tidy everything away

“There we go,” Lena said. The clean apartment felt so small to her, she could feel the ring starting to scratch away.

“I know you’re restless, please just take the time away from the fight,” she said, able to read the discomfort on her face.

“There are people out there need me and I’m stuck in here,” she said.

“You always want to fight for what’s right, you put yourself before others.” She sighed. “But someone who cares so much for others often forgets that looking after themselves is just as important.”

“I can’t stay cooped up like this,” Kara said. Lena adjusted her shirt and calmly placed herself back onto her kitchen stool.

“I’ll never know what it’s like to possess the power you do. I’d love to offer some insight on dealing with that side of it, but all I can offer is the same advice of occupying your mind or finding ways to stay centred.” Lena scratched at her chin, it was a rare sight to see her at a loss.

“What?” Kara said, as without warning Lena looked at her with a playful grin.

“I was just thinking of less frustrating ways you can pass the time. You can change your clothes on the fly with that ring of yours, maybe give fashion designing a go,” she said.

“Seriously?” Kara said, bemused.

“Why not, the Red Lantern fashion line could be the next big thing,” she said.

“Okay, now I know you’re messing with me,” she said.

“I’m just trying to think outside the box,” Lena said. Having Lena around was always a nice change of pace. She wanted to say more to her but found herself holding back. Even in these mundane circumstances, momentary thoughts that strayed too far from the ring’s agenda were lost to that endless hum. Instead she had to be content with nothing more than having Lena with her, if she pushed any further it was a risk to them both.


	15. Empty

“He did what?” Kara said.

“No word of a lie,” Lena said. A couple hours had passed by. Mundane chatter with Lena had been no chore at all.

“Did you even need his help?” she said.

“I didn’t ask for it, I didn’t even mention it to him, but this was before my business days so I didn’t have the connections and influence to do anything,” Lena said, swirling the tea in her cup.

“How did you even react to that?” she said.

“Well I was wallowing in the lab, annoyed at the lousy security that failed to protect my research. I was dreading the prospect of having to start from scratch, when in walks the supposed consultant that stole my samples and hard drives. Lex was right behind him with a stern look on his face, practically pushing him toward me. All I could do was sit there dumbfounded as the guy begged for my forgiveness. Within a day Lex had found out my work was stolen, tracked this guy down, got to him and marched him over to my workspace to force him to apologise to me in person,” Lena said.

“And he stood behind him the whole time?” Kara asked.

“Arms folded and unblinking. When I’d had enough of the grovelling Lex kicked him out, told me he was impressed with my work and suggested I work for Lex-Corp where the security was much tighter,” Lena said.

“I’m surprised he was still breathing after Lex found him,” she said. Lena looked off out the window, not paying too much attention to what she was seeing.

“My relationship with my brother is a weird one. I used to idolise him, he was always intelligent, charming, kind and fiercely protective. He would take my side when my mother would get particularly nasty or reassure me when I was at my worst. He knew I’d hate it if he actually hurt the guy, it took me a long time to realise he acted that way to try and manipulate me rather than out of genuine affection,” Lena said.

“And I thought my sister could be bad,” she said.

“Alex does what she does because she loves you, Lex did it because I would have been a useful asset to him. That wasn’t the only time he tried to hire me into Lex-Corp and I’m almost certain when he spouted his rhetoric against Superman he was trying to convince me to join his little inner-circle against him,” Lena said.

“I dread to think how things would have turned out if you’d said yes,” she said. Lena laughed.

“No need to worry, I would practically fall asleep when he talked about “that alien menace.” I just wish I’d paid enough attention to realise that Lex was crazy enough to actually take action against your cousin,” Lena said.

“I guess it’s easy to think that in hindsight,” she said.

“True enough, though I think it’s what makes him so dangerous. Even when he was angry or going on about Superman, he never raised his voice. Insidious and twisted words disguised behind compliments and how everything he does is in your interest, not just his. He always knew how to make people think the best of him before he would strike. I'm glad I learned to stop falling for it, if anything it taught me to spot the genuine from the selfishly manipulative,” Lena said. Their conversation was winding down, Lena glanced at her watch.

“I’m not keeping you here am I?” Kara said, concerned about how much of Lena’s time she had taken. The danger of the ring played on her mind as well, she put Lena at risk every minute she kept her around longer than necessary.

“It’s no problem, if anything you’ve forced me to take my own advice of slowing down and taking a break,” Lena said.

“Your work’s important, I shouldn’t keep you away from it,” she said. Lena put her cup down and looked into her eyes for a few moments. She got up quickly afterward.

“If you need me at any point…,” Lena said.

“I know,” she said. She was disappointed in herself for letting Lena stay as long as she had already, keeping their time short was safest for both of them.

“Bye Kara.”

She watched her leave, no doubt calling her driver to jump right back into one of her many projects.

The mild hum started to grow as she looked back to her empty apartment. The space looked a lot bigger without the mess. The damage from the book missile would no doubt take a hefty chunk out of her deposit. It reminded her of her young days, struggling to control her strength and nearly wrecking half the Danvers’ household whenever she had a tantrum. Anger was practically a luxury back then. She knew it would only be a matter of time before her clarity of thought would begin to get muddied again. Lena’s stories about her family and Lex served to remind her how much worse a position she could be in. Up until now she had been very reactive, only seeing the people Lena told her to see. Her relationship with Alex had mildly improved and with a relatively rage-free state of mind, she thought about Kal. She had mostly avoided him after what happened with Sam. Hearing from Lena about how depraved Lex could be was enough to get her blood boiling and the ring’s voice calling for swift justice. Kal had every right to be angry or to lash out, but the mere thought of acting that way was always so farfetched to him. Working through their issues and hearing what he had to say could be the salve she needed. The struggle of having so much power and being in a position where she could not always use it was a problem that had rekindled itself. It was a position only Kal could sympathise with.

If there was an easier solution to countering the ring causing her so much trouble, Kal would be the one to uncover it. A quick flight to Metropolis to see if he was free would take no time at all. She made the decision to head out, knowing the longer she debated it, the more she would talk herself out of it. Either that or the ring would start drilling into her thoughts once more, throwing the unstoppable urges for violence her way. She stopped in her tracks before leaving, looking down at her clothes. An image of a dress started to form in her mind, red of course, maybe a bit vintage. Something a little chic, vertical stripes at the top. She looked at her ring, knowing she could form it with ease. For a moment the hum hushed slightly and her arms felt heavy. She cast the dress from her mind and promptly changed to her usual stylings.

Her flight seemed weighed down, taking several minutes to get to Metropolis instead of blazing into its skyline within a few seconds. The ring’s power fluctuated much less than when she first got it, but from time to time it could still play up on her. Landing turned out to be easy as Clark’s building’s roof was clear. Her footsteps echoed in the stairwell, it was unclear how turning up unannounced would fly with him. Hopefully he would appreciate the gesture, the one certainty is he would want to help her regardless of how he felt about anything else. She sped up, trying to stop overthinking as she wound down each flight. She stared at the door, her fingers were twitching as she mustered the will to knock. She reminded herself it was all her own doing, the drive for a positive step came through as she tapped at it. Light footsteps made their way over. The door loudly unlatched and Lois was revealed to her.

“Hi there Kara, I wasn’t expecting you,” she said, she seemed apprehensive despite her smile.

“Sorry to drop by like this, is Clark in?” she said. Lois quickly glanced back into the apartment.

“He’s working,” Lois said. Kara squinted, trying to work out if she meant if it was work that involved a cape.

“Will he be back soon? I can wait,” she said.

“Now may not be the best time,” Lois said. Her reluctance started to make sense when she spotted a child walking to the kitchen. The child stopped to watch this scene unfold, cocking her head with a curious look on her face. Lois quickly noticed her.

“Maybe you should just come in,” Lois said, stepping aside. The child went about her business, disappearing into the kitchen.

“Babysitting for someone?” Kara asked.

“You could say that.” Lois’ eyes glanced over to the kitchen door. Her nervousness dropped slightly as she led her through to the lounge area. “So, what brings you to Metropolis?”  
“I wanted to see Clark, things have been a little tense at home and I thought it would be good to hear from him,” she said. Picking her words was tricky having to stay vague enough in case this child overheard anything. She imagined Lois knew the details of Kara’s complicated circumstances, although there was no way of knowing how deeply Clark had gone into it with her. In her few dealings with him, her current condition was a topic the usually confident man never really knew how to approach.

“I think he’d like that,” Lois said. Her eyes kept drawing to the kitchen door, the child was now peaking round the doorway with a glass of water in her hand. Lois still seemed distracted, with a pained expression and a bit of hesitation she spoke up.

“Don’t be rude now, come in if you want to say hello” she said. The girl was slightly startled and sheepishly shuffled in. “This is Kara, she’s Clark’s cousin.”

“Hi,” the girl said. Her posture was strangely upright for how shyly she had entered. She was young and had long, brunette hair. “I’m Ruby.”

Kara furrowed her brow. The name was somehow familiar.

“Hi Ruby, nice to meet you,” Kara said, she mustered a smile despite her conflicting thoughts. Lois seemed at a loss for words, it was something she did not know Lois was capable of. Unsure of how to react to the situation developing in front of her, she started to think she was missing something.

“Are you staying long?” Ruby said, rapidly shaking off her initial sheepishness.

“I’m waiting for Clark, but I’d be fine hanging around some more,” Kara said, doing an impression of her old self in an attempt to be more upbeat for the curious child.

After a short silence, Ruby piped up again.

“Do you want to see my room?” Her confidence was growing rapidly, and Kara’s smile became genuine at this child’s enthusiasm to host her.

“Okay then,” she said, standing up.

“I don’t know if that’s…” Lois said. She stopped herself when she got confused looks from both Ruby and Kara. “Just don’t keep her too long, Kara is a busy woman.” Lois shot a worried look at her, only further adding to the thought she was missing something obvious.

Ruby led her into the room, it was surprisingly orderly, only a few messily stacked books on a small desk was totally out of place. It seemed like she had been settled here for a while.

“How long have you been staying here, Ruby?” Kara said.

“A couple of months now,” her demeanour seemed to drop a bit.

“Sorry, I haven’t spoken to Clark in a while,” she paused, as the ring buzzed away in her mind it seemed to drain any ability she had to talk to a child. Ruby shook it off and proudly presented what she was reading, along with the few decorations she had picked out for the place. Kara was taken aback by the Lava-lamp at the side of her bed. It had been a long time since she had seen one, Ruby was enchanted with the blobs of gel merrily floating around for a moment.

“You’ve certainly made this place your own,” she said, spotting a small poster of Superman near the desk. It was odd to see, Kal hated merchandise based around him and he would have protested one up in his own home.

“Big fan of Superman?” She said, studying it. It was slightly cartoonish with that standing triumphant pose he enjoyed pulling off every now and then. Ruby sat down at her desk, she started fiddling with a pencil and looking at the poster too.

“Do you know much about him?” Ruby said.

“A reasonable amount,” Kara said, the fact the poster was up at all meant she did not know Clark’s real identity.

“I’ve always been a fan of Superheroes. Clark doesn’t speak much about him, but he definitely knows him,” she said. Kara looked around the room.

“How’d you end up with Clark and Lois?” It was mostly an attempt to deflect the conversation away from the topic, though she was also genuinely curious. Clark had not mentioned any of this to her.

“They’re friends of my Mum’s old boss,” Ruby hesitated, her voice had cracked a bit.

“It’s okay,” Kara said.

“My Mum’s been sick, Clark and Lois have been looking after me,” she said. As the words slowly processed in her brain, the situation she had got herself into had dawned on her. The timing of Ruby’s stay, Clark not mentioning it and Lois’ apprehension came crashing into one horrendous recollection, Reign muttering the word “Ruby.” Lena had largely kept quiet about everything to do with the World Killers. Despite this, she had heard enough to piece things together, she was standing in the room of Sam Arias’ daughter. She did not react, but the fight with Reign played in her mind. There was a flair from the ring as she pictured her brutal attack on Reign and heard the pained struggle she went through when she lost her arm. She hated going back to it, it was so clear in her mind. As she stood in the room and made polite conversation with the daughter of the woman she had done so much harm to, the worst of it was how little it affected her. Shortly after the incident she felt euphoria, then extreme remorse.

Now at this point she had spent so long training herself to ignore the ring that the memory had become numb. She could look into the eyes of this girl and feel no guilt about what she had done. The ring’s euphoric influence at the recollection of that night with Reign made itself known, Kara always did her best to push it away but some of that positive shiver crept through. It was something she never really wanted to address and avoided conversation about it, even with Lena.

Though the memory was so clear she did not skip a beat as she spoke again.

“Well I’m sure your Mum is under the best care possible,” she said.

“She is,” Ruby said, looking at the poster. “And Clark and Lois have been really nice.”

“They’re good people,” Kara said. She put her hand on Ruby’s shoulder. Ruby gave her a slight smile, but all Kara could think of was that emptiness toward her mother’s plight while the ring merrily pulsed away at the memory.


	16. Drain

She had spent a few minutes getting to know Ruby better with Lois popping in to check on them every now and then. She was a bright girl, Kara was surprised to learn how much Lena had been helping with school work. Ruby came across as conscientious and hard-working. From what she could see Sam had done a good job raising her, which was little comfort for her. She selfishly kept hoping for a pang of guilt or remorse to make itself known. Even wanting to give the ring a reason to react badly to her, it never came.

Eventually Kara left her be. Ruby wanted to stay put and go back to the book she was reading before Kara unintentionally interrupted. She was met with an apprehensive looking Lois, sitting upright on the sofa.

“She’s an enthusiastic one,” Kara said, taking a seat next to her.

“She’s certainly drawn to Clark’s natural kindness.” She looked over at Ruby’s door and spoke in a hushed voice. “Look, you’re always welcome here. That being said, I don’t think it’s appropriate with Ruby around.” Kara looked over to Ruby’s open door as well, she could only agree.

“I just want to see Clark, even if it’s only a few minutes,” she said.

“There was another power cut, biggest one yet, he went off to help,” Lois said. Kara stood up.

“Where’s this power cut centred?” She said.

“Clark went over to help co-ordinate the situation. His presence has a way of calming people down,” Lois said. Kara knew exactly what was being implied and glared at her. A pulse from the ring rippled up her arm, Lois sat firm with a stern expression.

“You do a lot of good, Kara, but you can’t deny there are people out there who a terrified of what you’ve become.” Kara wordlessly grabbed the TV remote and switched it on over to the news, she had no intention of starting an argument. The words “Power cut reaches Metropolis General Hospital,” sat in a breaking news banner. She left without a word, he would need help and nothing Lois would say could stop her.

“Kara…” Lois said, she reached out for her. Kara turned and shot an angry look her way, her eye twitched. Lois quickly let go and backed off. Loudly inhaling through her teeth, Kara walked out. Even if they feared her, she would help. Her mind felt foggy and she pushed any dissenting thoughts away. The door slammed behind her and the red uniform materialised around her body.

The relative sluggishness she experienced on the way over had only worn off slightly. The ring was doing very little in aiding her instincts, relying on her sense of direction to get here she needed. Not knowing Metropolis particularly well, she allowed herself to think of how Kal had treated her lately. Throwing her to the wolves on Oa and doing his best to distance himself from her since she got the ring. Forgoing rational thought on the matter, if only for a moment, let the ring home in on his position at an intersection further downtown. It was all she needed, she shot over to him. The city blurred beneath her. She found him at a large intersection, there was some smoke along with several damaged cars strewn about the place. A small, excited crowd had formed around him. The speed at which she arrived shocked some of the bystanders and the inertia knocked some of them over. The gasps and ruckus from her arrival got Superman’s attention very quickly.

“Ah, Supergirl. Thank you for the fly-by but everything’s under control. Just a few accidents from the traffic lights going out,” he said, helping up some of the people she had knocked over. He also put on that irritating noble tone of his that he used in public.

“The power cut is expanding in area somehow, the general Hospital just got hit,” she said flatly. He considered this for a moment.

“That’ll be top priority then, I’ll finish up here first and head over. They’ll have procedures for this sort of thing, I’ll make sure to get over there quickly.”

She tried to ignore the civilians who were slowly backing away from her. She could not herself stop scowling at the few who were getting their phones out. Some looked confused as they fiddled with them.

“What?” Kara said sharply. The woman she had directed this at was startled and looked to Superman.

“It’s alright,” he said, immediately putting the woman at ease. Kara rolled her eyes.

“It’s nothing, really,” she said.

“Spit it out,” Kara said, in the back of her mind she knew she was only proving Lois right, though did not care enough to do anything about it.

“It’s just… my phone was on full charge when I left and it’s already down to 30%” Superman’s eye’s widened.

“You, fiddling with your phone,” she pointed at another man. “Mine isn’t turning on at all.”

“Same here” another voice chimed in amongst a smattering of similar phrases. There was also general chatter about how some of their cars had cut out on them and wouldn’t start.

“It’s never effected anything outside the mains before. Now I’m thinking about it, the traffic lights should be running on back-up power too.” Clark said. A worried look appeared on his face, “The Hospital’s backup generators…,” Without hesitation they both shot into the sky.

“Lead the way,” she said.

Kal’s flight-speed felt frustratingly slow even with the ring playing up on her. When the hospital came in sight she thundered past him, landing hard at the hospital entrance. In her haste she had misjudged her deceleration slightly, causing cracks in the concrete where she landed.

“Bring me someone who’s in charge,” she said striding into the reception area. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked toward her, apart from a few nervous expressions no-one reacted to her.

“Time’s a factor here,” she said. A couple of nurses looked at each other.

“Errr… right away” he said, scurrying out of the room. Superman walked in behind her, immediately reading the room.

“No need to be alarmed,” he said, slyly throwing an annoyed look at her in the process. He walked over to her.

“We don’t want to put people on edge. I know the chief of medicine here, he’ll know the best course of action.” She reluctantly grunted in acknowledgement. The nurse returned quickly with someone in tow. His tag revealed it was the Chief of Medicine, he smiled at Superman.

“Hi there, the main lights may be off, and we could certainly use a hand here or there, but I’d say everything is largely under control,” he said. Superman walked up and shook his hand, before leaning and speaking quietly

“Is there somewhere quieter we can talk,” he said. A more worried expression emerged on his face as he led them through to an empty patient’s room.

“Is there a problem?” He said.

“Time may be of the essence, so I’ll skip the usual pleasantries. Further into the area affected by this power cut, phone batteries were draining. Have you had any issues with your back-up power,” Superman said. The mere suggestion sent the Chief into deep thought.

“If there were a problem I would have been told by now, but if it’s a possibility we could be in a lot of trouble,” he said, running his hands through his hair. “The I.C.U. will be effected most, and there are surgeons operating as we speak.”

“Traffic is grid-locked, we can’t move them off-site,” Superman said.

“Are you one-hundred percent certain this is going to be an issue?” He said.

“It’s a risk we can’t take, Supergirl and I could take patients off-site one by one,” Superman said. The chief shook his head.

“That won’t work, you move too fast. The people that need moving are in fragile states at best so couldn’t take the strain. And it’s not like we can just stitch up the patients in surgery…” as if on cue the door burst open. A panicked woman in a hard hat was puffing.

“Sorry to interrupt. I tried paging, but they aren’t working.” Kara exchanged a look with Superman and the Chief, knowing what was coming next.

“The generators are fluctuating, we thought it was just an error in the monitors at first… at this rate the hospital will be dead in the water very soon. What do we do?” She said.

“All power? Even the diesel powered…” he said.

“It’s all of them,” she said. The Chief stood completely still for a few seconds, before slumping down on to the bed.

“No transportation, power and gridlocked streets… hundreds of people…” he looked truly defeated.

The room was deflated and silent. The other three were simply at a loss for words, Kara was staring at her ring. All this time in the blackout zone and her ring remained unaffected apart from her own hang-ups. She activated shielding around herself just to be sure, it worked without a hitch.

“This is still working, seems to be immune,” she said, her heart’s beat was getting louder. The pounding drummed away “I’ll find the source of this power cut and stop it.”

“That could take too long, we need to protect the Hospital,” Superman said.

“From what? I hunt down whatever’s causing this and the problem ends,” she said.

“We don’t even know what’s causing this or how to stop, there’s no time,” he said. She started breathing heavily as the ring burned through her body, calling for blood.

“It’s a someone, not a something. I know it,” she said. The ring guided this instinct, she was on the brink of homing in on it.

“Now’s not the time for fighting, Doctor, I assume your backup systems are largely on site,” He said.

“That’s… yes,” the Chief said. Kara was finding it difficult to concentrate on the room as the booming grew louder and faster. The taste of blood seeped its way onto her tongue.

“Use that shielding of yours on the hospital, it could protect everything inside,” he said.

“I can’t stay here forever, whatever’s doing this needs to be put down,” she said, snarling through the sentence and squaring up to Superman.

“These blackouts have never lasted longer than a few hours. You can chase it up after we know everyone’s safe,” he said. She clenched her fists, the temptation to take a swing at Kal and fly toward whatever the ring wanted to guide her was almost irresistible. She inhaled, weighing everything up in her head and wanting so much to give in to the allure of violence. The split-second it took to make the decision felt like a lifetime. Every essence of her being was leaning toward telling Kal to go to hell, but the lingering memory of why she was here in the first place danced away in at the back of her head. The talk about Lex and how Kal always had the best for people in mind, to bear no grudges and to protect people above all else. It was just enough to deny the ring of what it was calling for her to do.

Her hands went limp and she exhaled slowly.

“I don’t know if the shielding will work, but it’s our best bet,” she turned to the chief.

“Once it’s up no-one will be able to get in or out, make sure everyone is where they need to be. Do it quickly. The shield will be life-supporting, air won’t be an issue. I’ll stay at ground level, if it isn’t working or there are any emergencies you need tell me immediately,” she said.

“I’ll get right on it,” the Chief said, re-energised by even this small glimmer of hope.

“I’ll be at the entrance, let me know the moment the Hospital is ready,” she said, walking out. Kal joined her. The building was huge, she had never attempted a construct so large. She glanced over to Kal, hovering by her side. He gave her a nod of approval. Having pushed away the ring’s will and letting her rage subside, that familiar heavy feeling weighed her down. Being out of sync with the ring had been vital for her to make the right choice, but fear and doubt crept in to replace them. In a weakened state and such a daunting task, she did not know if she had it in her to carry this plan through.


	17. Embrace

All the horrors and dangers she had thrown herself at head first seemed to pale in comparison to a simple building. She watched the people rush back and forth, staff were running and shouting from afar in attempts to save just a few more seconds before the hospital was ready. This entire plan hinged on her ability to do this, possibly for hours. On top of it all there was no guarantee it would work. Superman was no longer at her side, he had been called in to move equipment and anyone who could handle higher speeds. It was just her, the ring and the hospital. The ever-present hum was quieter than she liked. That brief and intense sense of whatever was causing this had slipped away already. She spent so much time resenting the ring, now she missed that numbness it could help bring.

Opting to defend instead of attack had sent her spiralling. Even after having the ring for so long, it was times like this that served as a harsh reminder how much of a danger she could be with it. There was nothing else to do other than wait for a signal, she dwelled on what it all meant. Oddball’s insistence that even the least trustworthy of sources can benefit everyone and Lena’s determination to remind her to go easy on herself spun amongst the endless hum in an effort to defend herself. The ring threw everything out of whack, even her own simple thought processes. Being lost and confused was the best she could hope for. The desperate shouts and frantic movements around her made her wander if anyone really knew what was going on. Even the determined gusts of Superman zipping past her had an uneasy feel to them as it blew her hair back each time. She focused on her breathing and the pump of her heart as everything slowed down. She could feel the apprehension in the air when Superman finally came to a stop beside her.

“They’re as ready as they can be,” he said. Kara rolled her shoulders and stretched out her arms. She brought the ring close to her mouth.

“Work for me, not against me, just this once” she muttered under her breath. She was not even sure the ring comprehended speech on that level, she hoped its seemingly bestial will would understand the sentiment behind it at least. Sniffing loudly and outstretching her ring hand, she clenched her fist and pointed it at the hospital. With a short and determined breath a beam shot out from the ring. A low droning sound emanated from the point of impact and the red glow engulfed the space around it. Audible gasps and confusion broke out around her, there had been no time to tell everyone the plan. The red wave advanced onward, bending around every nook and cranny of the hospital’s exterior. A mild burning pain in her hand grew with the shielding, every inch of its expansion added to the strain. She looked up to see it stretching to the roof and could sense it going over the top, encircling everything it could. Majority of the hospital had been covered and a crowd had formed around her, taking in the spectacle of it all.

The shield still had some travelling to do, it was slowing down and the toll it was taking on her was increasing rapidly. Superman lightly touched her shoulder, she instinctively shoved him away with her free hand then grabbed her wrist to support her outstretched fist. The final stretch of uncovered space rapidly closed, the hospital was fully shielded. The beam held firm and the warm red glow tinted the air around it. Superman had backed off, starting to understand that support was not what she needed, it was something else entirely. This was only the beginning.

The minutes passed by as the shimmering red forcefield droned on. Before long someone appeared at the front door, attempting to get her attention. Superman had taken up the role of interreference as questions and comments from bystanders had come flying her way. She had fazed them out amongst the hum in her head, focusing everything she had in maintaining the shield. Superman came over to her.

“It’s working, the generator’s readings have levelled out and powering everything normally again,” he said. It was of little comfort, a part of her she tried ignoring hoped that this plan would fail. Chasing down whatever caused this would be so much easier, that brief stint of extreme rage and knowing what it was had passed too quickly to get a true hold of it. Instead she was rooted to the spot. Every minute that went by was agonising, her body shuddered and the burning pain spread. She tensed in her stance and the ground crumbled around her feet, the cracks slowly branched out around her. She could feel herself wavering as the ring fought back. The brilliant red began to flicker ever so slightly. There was no adrenaline or rush of fighting to keep the ring’s will satiated.

“Not now, come on,” she said to herself as the beam from her ring flickered even more. It made no difference, she knew maintaining the shield like this would be impossible. She was fully aware of how to strengthen her bond with the ring and could not count on the blackout suddenly subsiding. It had been nowhere near long enough. At this point there was no choice, she would have to embrace the rage it thrived on. Let in the feelings she tried so hard to control and suppress. She yelled out as she let her mind go to these dark corners. The beam solidified stronger than before, the droning from the shield loudened.

The burden was always hers, it was so clear to see as she struggled on with the shield as Superman just watched. Just like Daxam he had left her with the hard work. She took the responsibility of the whole world at every turn, but Superman was the one they all loved. She was cowered from and doubted all because she had the guts to act. The ring flared up, blasting a second beam onto the hospital. It lightened the physical burden on her. The pain burning through her body still refused to subside, instead she could embrace it more and allowed it to fuel her. Grasping onto her resentment had given her a second wind and she stood firm shielding the hospital from whatever was happening. More time passed and there was no hint of the power cut letting up, if anything she could sense it getting stronger. Some unknown force tugging and testing at the edges of the hospital. She had to give more to the ring as this force slowly grew crushingly powerful. Tapping into her rage was all too easy.

She thought of Daxam, how their slaughter of innocents forced her hand into extreme action. She doubted her own morality, had to give up on the man she had loved and pushed Lena away. All of that and they had the nerve to say she was in the wrong, summoned to those clueless and inflexible Guardians on Oa who insisted on questioning her motives at every turn. Consistent punishment for the good deeds and sacrifices she had to make. Her resolve strengthened by tapping into this part of herself, but it was only slowing the shield’s inevitable collapse.

“Other areas of the blackout are starting to light up again, it can’t be much longer,” someone said. She was so wrapped up in her own head she could not even tell who had said it. Whatever this force was refused to relent. Somehow it continued to get worse, every inch of the shield was under extreme pressure and there was no-one else to rely on to maintain it. She took a step forward and thought of Alex. That moment when she lost her arms and those replacements she had to settle for. It was her own fault for not being strong enough to protect her. She took another step and gritted her teeth. Her fist outshone the daylight itself as it blazed a new beam. After everything she had done, facing the court of the Guardians and ending Reign. Her only thanks was to be left with the ring and see almost every relationship she had crumble around her for it. It was not fair, none of it was. She just wanted was for things to go back to normal, but the threat of the World Killers lingered on and all she could do was hang around in this purgatory of perpetual agony. She could taste blood flooding into her mouth as she stepped forward again. Power was radiating off her and she could sense that crushing force on the shield subsiding. She plunged her burning fist into the shielding itself. With a brilliant flash of red the shield burst out, breaking away the force on it. The people watching and even Superman would have no idea of what she went through to get to this point, they all knew so little of her struggle. All they did was take advantage of the outcomes then blame her when there were consequences. She held her hand inside shield, her hand hissed in searing pain as she brought it’s form back to surrounding the hospital. She closed her eyes, breathing heavily and dropping her shoulders. The fury she had embraced to get to this point was racing around her mind, her heart was booming louder than ever before as her mind flipped between each forbidden thought. Mon-El, Alex, Kal, Lena had all been hurt because of her in one way or another. She had let the daughter of her victim give her a tour of her room and felt nothing. The guilt was solely due to how she had no genuine inkling for remorse or an apology left in her. If this was her true nature, then isolation would be far safer for them all. It would be what she deserved.

So much was broken and the raw energy the ring provided her was almost paralysing. She dropped the shield, it was over.

Her hand was drenched in blood and partially melted, little of it remained except for her palm, ring-finger and thumb. Superman and a few others came to check on her. All her anger and the ring’s encouragement of it brought her to breaking point and she let out a bellowing, incoherent yell. It shattered windows and doors for hundreds of feet around. Everyone left in the block immediately covered their ears in shock as it thundered throughout the city. Her whole body trembled and her eyes widened. She shot up into the air at full force, breaking the ground into a small crater as she took off. She was on the brink of losing control. It was unsafe for anyone to be around her and there was no way of calming herself down quickly enough. Whenever she tried to clear her mind, new fury found its way into her heart.


	18. Honesty

She floated just outside the Earth’s atmosphere, it seemed like the best place to stay. She had let herself simmer down, though had no idea how long it had taken to get back to even a vaguely coherent state of mind. The ring was still shining bright, high off the power it had been fed. Lingering thoughts floated as freely as she did. She hoped everything that went through her head was the ring’s influence and not how she really saw it all. Hope was all she had as even after allowing herself some time, the resentment remained. Blaming the universe and herself for her plight was the recurring conclusion.

She looked down on the planet, it was her duty to protect it. All this personal sacrifice and it just keeps turning without a care. She rubbed her face, after everything she did not even get the chance to talk to Kal about what she was going through. Not knowing what to do she remained idle, telling herself she needed more time to recover from the ordeal. The hum had died down significantly, if anything the ring would at least be satisfied for a while. The chance to take that break Lena kept insisting on might be a real possibility.

“What in death’s name happened to your hand?” A voice sounded off next to her. She looked down at it, she had already forgotten half of it had melted away. Fortunately, in space the smell of her charred flesh did not carry through and it was already reforming. Despite the speed of the healing, it was vulgar to look at. She turned to the red glow and beauty of Bleez, she had been so wrapped up in her own head that she had not noticed her arrival.

“How’d you find me?” Kara said, almost welcoming any excuse to get out of her own head. Bleez chuckled and stretched out her wings.

“My darling, you may not have noticed but the rage coming from here was rather strong. If it weren’t so fleeting I’d have thought Atrocitus himself was here,” Bleez said.

“Well, he isn’t,” she said. Bleez looked confused, the statement seemed to make no sense to her.

“So…” Bleez said.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” she said, more forcefully than she had intended.

“Message received, I simply came by to see what my ring picked up on. I think someone more sensible than I would have gone the opposite direction, mind,” Bleez said. She joined her in looking down at the planet. “I take it you’re rather fond of it.”

“What’s it to you?” she said.

“Curious my dear, nothing more,” Bleez’ ring glimmered as she spoke. “I can get out of your hair if you wish." Kara said nothing and continued to stare at the Earth. The lights on the dark side danced out into the inky blackness around them.

“As I don’t have a whole lot more to say and I haven’t run into many more Red Lanterns before whatever your outburst was, I guess I’ll get back to the whole scoping them out thing,” Bleez said, she fluttered around her a few times before looking to head off.

“Wait,” Kara said, snapping her gaze away from the planet.

“Something to say to me now, I’m all ears,” Bleez said. Her unending flirtatious tone was surprisingly soothing.

“Is this what being a Red Lantern is? A constant fight to control ourselves? Living with the hate for myself and everyone else. Constantly suppressing that urge to lash out at anyone the ring deems deserving?” she said. Bleez seemed surprised by the question and considered it for a moment.

“I must admit, until I met you I would have laughed at that description,” Bleez said.

“Why’s that?” she said.

“Though I’m better than most, the notion of control and that much… how shall I say it? Self-awareness.” Bleez paused for a moment to look her over.

“For us it’s never been part of the equation. We act on our ring’s will until it’s done, slaves to it. You however, seem to be equal to it. Able to calm yourself down and go against it without it giving up to find a new host,” Bleez said. Kara nodded, though she was unsure what to make of her perspective.

“I know why I have this thing, I know I hate this thing,” she said fiddling with it on what was left of her hand. “You seem so content with yours.” Bleez gave a small nod and seemed to be thinking hard on the statement.

“I greatly enjoyed my life before the Corps, but there was a turning point…” Kara sensed a strong welling up of anger inside Bleez.

“Don’t let it in,” she said. Bleez was confused again, looking down at her ring and back to her. Her intense look dropped to a sullen expression, it was as if she had never encountered such simple advice.

“I’ll just say the ring came to me when I needed it most and gave me the power to stop the injustice being done to me. Now I do the same for many others, or I can avenge those who weren’t as lucky as I was, the ones who don’t get to be saved,” Bleez said.

“Is that what being a Red Lantern is to you, a vessel of revenge with no process or questioning?” Kara said.

“We’re often painted as insane or evil because the rings choose such extreme methods and burn away at our own free will at times, but I’ve never killed anyone who hasn’t deserved it. The innocent are safe from us, that seems to be the part most people forget,” she said.

“Innocence...” Kara cut herself off, wandering what exactly that meant. How much innocence did Sam have when she became Reign. How innocent was she when she forced the Daxamites away. The absolute judgement of the Red Lanterns seemed far too broad for situations with no clear right answer. “You don’t question what you do and how you do it?”

“Until you, my dear, I didn’t even know it was an option,” she said. Kara could not help but smile statement. It was unexcepted, but welcome. It sounded to her like the hospital ordeal was how most Red Lanterns felt all the time, the fact she could push herself that far and come back from it was reassuring in its own way. This realisation seemed to quieten the hum and make the loud beat of her heart a bit less noticeable.

“Thank you, Bleez, for talking about this with me,” Kara said. Bleez seemed peculiarly flustered by the gratitude.

“I… Er… you’re welcome?” dropping that tone of hers. Kara laughed at her.

“I appreciate what you have to say, is it so difficult to accept gratitude,” she said. Bleez seemed to have no idea where to look.

“You really are the polar opposite of Atrocitus,” Bleez said, uncomfortable with the whole situation.

“I’ve kept you long enough, but please come back soon,” she said.

“I will. It was good to talk, Supergirl,” Bleez said, hesitating as she spoke. Intentionally or not, Bleez dropped her habit of showy flight as she went back out into the stars.

Kara pouted at the planet, her mind had cleared for the most part and even just the small snippet from Bleez had given her a lot to think about. Feeling introspective, she remembered why she came to Metropolis in the first place. She floated back down through the atmosphere and Metropolis grew from a speck to a city as she sped through the sky. Not too far beneath the sky-line Kal came to her.

“Are you okay? What happened?” he said, genuine concern on his face.

“I needed to be… angry for a bit. Did I miss anything?” she said.

“Not much, just clean-up here and there. Unfortunately, that shout of yours burst a few ear-drums, no permanent damage from what I gathered,” he said.

“Is this the part where you tell me what I did was wrong,” she said, catching herself and realising maybe she was a lot less calm than she originally thought.

“Not at all, you just did a great thing. Even turned down a chance at a fight.” He struggled to make eye contact and was notably uncomfortable. “I think we both know I’m handling this whole Red Lantern thing poorly. I’m doing my best…”

“It’s fine,” she said. There was a moment of silence between them, Kal tried to regain his composure.

“Lena and I talk, you know. She told me you’re supposed to be taking a break,” he said.

“Did she now?” she said.

“I trust you, Kara. But Lena has a point, holding onto that much anger for so long will take its toll,” he said.

“Like you’d know,” she said.

“I’ve had my own struggles, Kara. We all do, it doesn’t make us bad people,” he said. 

“Doesn’t look like it. You’re so relentlessly positive and forgiving. I’ve become something you can barely understand. I’ve done things that go against everything you believe, but here you are doing what you can to encourage me,” she said.

“It’s who I am, who I have to be. People are so willing to focus on the bad that it can drown out those who can forgive. Sometimes one person’s kindness is all it takes to turn a life around,” he said. She wished it was a sentiment she could get behind, that a switch could just be flipped and all her doubts would disappear.

“You never lapse. Never get tired or just want to give up and accept that some people can’t be helped,” she said. Kal chuckled.

“Never is a very strong word, as I said, I’ve had struggles. Even if it isn’t doesn’t show, I have my troubles every now and then. It’s those times where I look to the people I love to support me. I may not understand everything you do, but you’re on the right path. Alex and Lena can keep you grounded, and although I know it’s something I admit I’ve avoided and failed at. I can be here for you as well should you need it,” he said. Kara raised an eyebrow.

“Is that something you actually want?” She said. Kal laughed again.

“Am I that obvious? What you’ve become confuses me, but I know your reasons are just. And should you want me to, I’ll do everything I can to understand and support you,” he said. Kara sighed.

“I want to hate you sometimes, I really do. You’re so sickeningly perfect, it’s a shame I just can’t bring myself to do it,” she said.

“I think that was a compliment, though I assure you I am far from perfect. You’ve seen that yourself multiple times,” he said, she remained sceptical.

“You’re looking after the child of someone you never knew, separated from her mother because of something I did. You never even mentioned it, didn’t look for praise or recognition. It’s just what you do. The right thing without question,” she said. He looked away from her.

“You met Ruby then,” he said.

“She seems to be a fan of yours,” she said, knowing it would make him uncomfortable.

“You say I don’t have struggles, but every time I look at that girl I’m reminded how I failed her mother. I couldn’t protect her, I was helpless…” he said. She heard no blame in his tone, only sadness. That had been her intention at the time, the ring’s burning desire to get back at him forcing her barbaric nature. Kal began speaking again before she could muster the will to argue.

“But I also failed you. Instead of trying to reach you, I stood by and watched. I let it happen because I was lost. If I was so perfect I would have known what to do. If I were so perfect I would have recognised what I had been driving you toward and done right by you,” he said. She wanted to tell him not to blame himself and that the fault was solely hers, but her words would have been insincere. Everything she had done and Kal was blaming himself. The answers she sought would not come from him, his view was too pure. Being so whole-heartedly good was his nature and lacked the comprehension of where her anger stemmed. There was more to say, though neither of them spoke. She watched the clouds go by and let the long silence between them fester until a pang of guilt forced her hand.

“I came to Metropolis for you, Kal. It’s because it’s what you’re the best at. Don’t forget, don’t doubt.” She broke the silence suddenly, instinctively saying it before she could give it much thought. A smile curled up on the side of his mouth.

“Maybe not the best, it wasn’t me that saved the hospital,” he said.

“I didn’t mean the powers or the whole saving the day schtick. It’s your words and attitude that carry through just as much, all this power yet you can do so much without the cape,” she said. Kal cocked his head.

“Superman and Supergirl can do amazing things, so can Clark Kent and Kara Danvers,” he said.

“I don’t think I know what Kara Danvers is any more,” she said, the ring twinkled.

“Maybe it’s time to find her again, you told me that the power cuts was a someone and not a something. Dust off the old notepad and do some good old-fashioned investigation, no ring needed for that,” he said. She responded with a non-committal grunt. They stayed for a while longer, watching the city go by. The revs of engines were starting up again. Car horns beeped in the slow traffic and the smell of exhaust rose. Nothing more was said.


	19. Trail

The all too familiar surroundings of her apartment faded to the background. She had a set-up of several notebooks and boards. The down-side of everything being so tidy was it took away the easiest form of procrastination. Forcing herself to think about the problem directly had gotten her nowhere slowly. Kal was telling the truth when he said there was little to go on regarding Metropolis’ bout of power cuts. Apart from the dates, times and areas the power cuts hit, he had given her nothing. Too busy with other work and Ruby. She watched as many reports on the matter as she could find, since the beginning it involved a lot of uncomfortable spokespeople paraphrasing how they had no idea what was going on. The general consensus was that there did not seem to be anything wrong or any detectable abnormalities. Something was either being covered up or they genuinely did not know. Going through official means would just give her the same answers as the reports. She had put up a map with all the power cut locations marked down, hoping to find some sort of correlation.

The first noticeable instance had happened a few weeks ago. There would have been progress in the story if the regular avenues of investigation had revealed anything. Even just someone saying they had leads that they were pursuing. Faults in the grid itself would be better covered by the regulators and any industrial sabotage would leave a trace for the F.B.I. or police to follow. If there was someone to follow that would not be announced, there was no way to know for sure without calling in a favour or two. It was times like this she resented having to leave the D.E.O.

Before, a quick call to Alex or Winn would give her a wealth of extra information to work with. From what she had been told, the Green Lanterns were paying very close attention to any D.E.O. activity, it made even calling in favours a risky game. She huffed at her map, she had hoped for some sort of inspiration but all she got was a bunch of shapes and numbers. In her frustration the ring’s hum was creeping back and her heart grew louder, the thumping in her chest made it hard to concentrate at times.

When she stared at the map, the hospital seemed to stare back. It had been an intense experience to say the least, she tried not to let it distract her. It would have saved a lot of time if there had been anything obvious from the information already available. The instinct that a single person was the root cause gnawed away at her as well, she wanted to ignore it. Choosing to forgo logic and reason based on a whim she had when enraged was a dangerous path. Sam was a testament to the consequences of letting the ring lead the way, quietly dismissing the fact that with it she had tracked her down easily from an entirely different planet. Finding herself more tempted by the ring gleaming at her, she decided to get out of the apartment. The map was growing tiresome and a fresh look later might reveal something she missed. Without a proper view on it and being the most recent area effected, she made her way back to Metropolis and the Hospital she had shielded. A perk she still had over most journalists was the ability to travel everywhere at speed and no expense.

She watched the crowds funnel in and out of the hospital. It appeared so much less daunting now, what had been a huge complex of architecture so recently looked like a regular building again. It was the difference that no burden made. The pain in her hand flared ever so slightly standing in the spot where it all happened. It was fully formed once more, though the skin was still severely peeled and rough. It was hard not to scratch at the numerous blisters that cropped up. Having to shield the hospital so heavily suggested whatever caused this was able to focus on this one area, despite having started at a different spot. She was not aware of any regular human technology capable of such feats. Alien technology or a meta-human was the most likely explanation. The lack of a motive and seemingly random nature of the power cuts had her dismiss the possibility of Livewire making a return. She was stuck again. She walked through the city, making sure to stay in the area that was affected in the hope she would spot or be reminded of something she was too distracted to notice at the time.

It was odd being at ground level, recently all her time was spent looking down at the bustling crowds from on high rather than being part of them. No fear, awe or curiosity was sent her way. The only looks she got were when there was surprising amount of resistance to anyone that bumped passed her. She had lost the art of weaving through a crowd, which seemed more necessary than ever in the square and grey streets of Metropolis. There was a warmth among beyond the mass of bodies she stepped within, an underlying anger that even the some of the most cheerful looking people contributed toward. She took deep breaths as she bathed in the feint aura it all formed. Her direction was largely aimless. Getting lost in the city’s anger, it flooded her senses as she subconsciously walked for hours to soak it all in. Despite the number of people, any direct liveliness was lacking. It was strange as she could sense the emotion so strongly, like it was stroking her skin.

After some time, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened again, blinking several times to adjust to the light, her eyes were drawn upward to a power line. With nothing else to go on it seemed a good a plan as any to follow it along. She adjusted her glasses every now and then, tracking the line as it passed over buildings or went underground. She snaked through the city, not entirely sure what instinct she was following now. After a lot more walking she eventually ended up at site with several transformers. After a quick check on her phone’s GPS and picture of the black out map, she found she was at the centre of one of the previous power cuts. There was CCTV around and a large, grated fence. It seemed unlikely someone would be able to mess with anything without being noticed. She eyed the entrance to the place, wondering whether to saunter in and start asking for things. She stroked her chin, thinking of the best way to approach the problem. She pondered for longer than she realised as a man from behind the fence got her attention.

“Can I help you, ma’am?” He said. He wore a high-vis and what looked like a generic security uniform. “You’ve been standing there a few minutes now.” There was a suspicion to his tone.

“Just… thinking,” she said.

“Well you can go and think somewhere else,” he said. She looked around at all the bright yellow warning and high voltage signs.

“It’d be very dangerous for someone who didn’t know what they’re doing to break in here, wouldn’t it?” She said. The man looked concerned at the statement.

“It very much would, I hope you’re not getting any stupid ideas,” he said. She folded her arms, still looking pas him at the machinery and wiring.

“I’m a reporter. CatCo. Looking into the recent power cuts,” she said. The man’s stern expression remained.

“There are plenty of people to talk too about that, loitering outside this facility won’t get you anywhere,” he said. She ignored his tone and reached for a notepad.

“You haven’t had any break-ins or unusual activity recently,” she said.

“I wouldn’t allow any break-ins. Now get lost, I’m not here to talk to journalists,” he said. She promptly put away the notebook.

“Off the record then,” she said. The guard’s patience seemed to be wearing thin. “Unusual activity, anyone in particular acting strangely around a week ago?”

“I’d call people like you and unexplained power cuts unusual enough, and...” It seemed like he was about to say more but stopped himself.

“Get a move on, find someone who gets paid to answer questions like that,” he said.

“What were you about to say?” She said.

“Nothing, make sure you’re gone by the time I get back,” he said. Whatever he had thought of had him flustered. She would have kept pushing if he had not already walked away. A quick use of X-ray vision let her see there was a security station. She had got a quick glance at his I.D. badge before he disappeared. Robert Booker, he knew more than he was letting on. He seemed normal enough and even though she had done her best to ignore it, the ring’s lack of interest in him suggested it was not something he had done that had him so cagey. Having worked in what was the central location for one of the, albeit, smaller power cuts and working on security meant he may have seen something he did not want to talk about.

CCTV or employee records were off the table, she had no official credentials and had hardly ingratiated herself with security. She flicked the fence lightly, it rattled back at her. Getting her hands on physical evidence or searching further into what was a relatively small facility seemed risky. It would involve calling the D.E.O. or breaking into the place herself. Instead, she kept her hearing tuned into the facility. Picking out Robert’s voice from the ambient noise and other voices would be tricky, she would have to concentrate hard and even that was not guaranteed. She looked around for a café or coffee shop she could set herself up in. She glanced back several times as she moved, Robert was on a little patrol route. If he had anything to say it would likely be with whoever else was manning the security station, knowing this, she accelerated to a jog to make sure she could be in place in time. The first cafe that would work for her was further away than she would have liked, it also seemed grungy and she was convinced the hygiene rating it boasted had been generous. She ordered a coffee to ignore so she could plant herself on a table outside. She shut herself off to the world, focusing entirely on tracking the movement of Robert. She watched him meander about the place. Whenever it looked like he was finally going back to the security station he veered off to another part of the facility, her jog was a wasted effort at this point. Getting a proper read on his face was difficult from such a distance, but his movement seemed jumpy and uneasy. After a few more minutes he made his way back. She closed her eyes so she could focus entirely on listening in.

“What was all that about?” another voice chimed up.

“What? Oh nothing.” It was Robert’s voice.

“I ask you to check on the crazy lady and you wander about for five minutes, I’ve been watching you on the cameras,” the other man said.

“Forget it, alright,” Robert said. There was a silence between them, Kara willed on for the other man to follow it up, there had to be something more.

“Whatever man, I know this job gets boring but going walkabouts for no reason might get management on our case.” There was only a half-acknowledgement. She was getting a headache from having to concentrate her hearing so specifically. She persisted, wishing for a little bit of luck to come her way.

“It’s just… she was a reporter,” Robert said.

“So what? We’ve had police and god knows who else poking around.”

“Yeah but they have to explore everything. Why would a reporter specifically stare this place down and then ask me about people acting strangely?” he said.

“You’re worrying too much, mate. They’ve had nothing new on this story for weeks so are just sniffing around wherever they can.”

“I dunno, this place is so insignificant. You don’t think Jo’s unscheduled visit…”

“Rob, Jo saved our arses by fixing whatever the hell happened. I’m getting you a beer after this shift, you really need to relax.”

Her eyes burst open and her ears rung as she returned her senses to normal. She had a lead, an unscheduled visit significant enough to spook someone. Who apparently fixed the issue. It was not much to go on, a male or female by the name Jo with technical expertise that was at that site when the power went down. She took a sip of the coffee as a reward for herself and hoped it would soothe her overloaded senses. She grimaced, even the taste of blood failed to drown out how disgusting it was.


	20. Search

The sun had set, she had gone back to her apartment to stare at the map some more. For the first time she was grateful she never slept as she kept grinding away through the night. With a little bit of research, she discovered that all the central points of the blackout zones had been along high voltage lines or transformer facilities similar to the one she visited today. If this was the work of one person, they had access to and knowledge of numerous facilities along the grid. They were also able to move freely without much questioning, otherwise someone would have flagged them as a security risk. The name “Jo” kept ringing around her head. An unscheduled visit that stopped the blackout was so frustratingly vague. Part of her wanted to go back and ask more questions, though she got the feeling the staff would not be very forthcoming.

The blackout zones were spread out across the city, they started out in the sub-urbs and worked their way in. Another thing she had noticed was how the area had gotten bigger each time. The hospital being so heavily focused on threw a spanner in the works, before then it appeared aimless. Spreading from one central point without direction. A fact the reports did disclose was that the power loss was not due to overload or the technology failing, it was inexplicably gone for however long then returned to normal as if nothing had happened each time. She cobbled together a theory from the information she had. The work of one freely moving person, possibly metahuman or alien, was siphoning energy from the grid. Whoever or whatever it was started small, the outskirts of the city in low population areas. Either this person was building up confidence or testing the extent of this power. It was what made the most sense to her, the question remained as to who Jo was and what they had to do with all this. Jo could have been in the wrong place at the wrong time or be responsible for it all, there was no way to tell apart from finding them.

She lay back on the sofa, allowing theories to crop to mind. The clock had just hit 4am, it was too early to call or follow-up on her thoughts with anyone. It scrunched as she shifted, trying to find a comfortable position. This whole time the ring had been relatively quiet, she had built up a tolerance in more low-key moments. It was likely still on a high from the Hospital as well. Though the hum never relented, it was times like these that she was better at living with it.

As she grew bored of aimless speculation her mind wandered to a dangerous place, she dwelled on Mon-El. Normally she would push any such thought away immediately, however it was a moment of relative calm and there was time to kill. Curiosity as to how much of the fury of having to abandon him was truly her own was piqued. The ring stirred, trying to latch on to the thought and drum up the pounding of her heart. It was surprisingly easy to control, the grief remained but it appeared anger at his loss had lessened. It was only when the circumstances surrounding it that the ring caught hold. The unfair treatment of everyone involved. Lena forced to create a terrible weapon, Kal forced to fight her and everything he believed in, the actions of Rhea forcing her son into exile, the Guardians of the universe butting in to her business and then failing to find him. The sacrifices she had to make to protect the world. No-one won that day, but the only ones that cared past the point of the day being saved wanted to blame her for everything.

She turned to her side, rubbed the bridge of her nose and quietly growled to herself. She knew this train of thought could end up with her tearing the building in half. The drumming of her heart gently rose and fell as she let herself concentrate on the some of the more meditative techniques Lena had suggested to her. She glanced out the window, the dim glow of streetlights and passing cars still made themselves known at this height. Occasionally it still felt strange, picturing the quiet streets at a time like this with no hint of tiredness. The number of times in her life where she felt weighed down by long days and she would wish away the exhaustion. Now she almost longed for it, barely remembering the last time she even yawned. There was only the pulsing of the ring keeping her mind ablaze. Even in this quiet moment and being largely uninterested in the subject of this investigation, it bestowed her with a fiery focus that never truly switched off.

A short amount of time passed before she was fidgeting and at it again. Even if it was too early to talk to anyone or start making calls, there was bound to be something she could find online. The transformers she came across were likely owned and operated by a nearby building or business due to the relatively small size. It felt like a waste of time pursuing that angle, it would be unlikely any business would be saying anything about their power supply on a website or post. And as far as she could think, it lacked any real correlation with the other blackout sites. The interruption from security had her only focus on the people around the site. It occurred to her she had yet to investigate details about the site itself. She glanced out her window again, a flight back to Metropolis just to inspect the place would hardly take any time at all. In the blink of an eye, red light flared across the night sky as she sped over. The greyness of Metropolis seemed marginally less dull with small streams of light filling the streets. She floated high above, the cool night air brushing through her hair. Not wanting to trespass or show up on any CCTV, she got no closer and focused her senses. The whirring of the machines had an odd harmony with the ring’s constant humming at her. Everything about them seemed standard, not that she had much expertise to go on. There were serial numbers and gauges that were hard to make out in the dark from such a distance. As she squinted to try and get any read on anything it occurred to her that the staff she had spoken too and listened in on earlier were security, most likely there to keep away prying eyes or stopping people hurting themselves. Their interaction with the machines had been negligible and had nothing to do with the specialist information available. There had to be someone who checked on them and conducted inspections or maintenance. Whoever this was would have expertise in electrical systems and easy access to this site at least. The more she thought about it, the more it fell into place. She floated slowly around to another angle and spotted the manufacturer and logo of the transformer’s distributors. A large sticker on the side read, “Prism Electricals Ltd,” accompanied by a picture of a prism dispersing light. With this lead in mind she flew to the other blackout areas. With speed on her side and something specific to look for, the dots started to connect. Though she was not successful in finding all of them, several of the blackout site central points had machines with the same label of Prism Electricals. With a lead to follow, she sped through the sky and came to a violent halt outside her apartment. She ran her hand along the wall as she made her way over to her laptop, her hand coming across the roughness of the new crack in the wall.

She pawed at the spacebar to bring it to some sort of life, Lena always telling her that it’s better to turn it off than leave it on standby all the time nagged at her. The CatCo wallpaper it had glowed at her, memories of Ms.Grant started to surface as the logo stared at her. She ignored them, more concerned with the task at hand and opened chrome. The tab blocked away the logo and beckoned her to search. Typing in “Prism Electricals Ltd” got her their website as the first result. It seemed professional enough, though it lacked a certain polish. She scrolled through the minimalist pages, mostly seeing information about their technology. The ranges of generators, motors and transformers they had led to little. A small glimmer of hope was quickly quashed as information on their services only provided details about how it worked rather anyone who was involved. She stroked her chin and fiddled with her glasses as she investigated further. She had hoped for a list of staff members or something along the lines of “meet the team” to be around, but there was no such luck. There was little of any use until she scrolled to the bottom. Standard terms and conditions links, along with contact details and the location of their headquarters sat there in their own boring way. One thing that did get her attention was the feed of their latest tweets. She clicked the link over to twitter itself to inspect them further. As she suspected from the cheap design of the website, it was a small company. Infrequent tweets on holidays and award ceremonies for the company made up the bulk of their feed. There was a relatively small number of tweets to go through, she cursed at the screen as nothing of any further use jumped out at her. As she was about to close the laptop in frustration the number of followers caught her eye, there were only around one-hundred. A hunch was confirmed when she clicked, the bulk of people that would follow a small electrical manufacturer were other companies, and more importantly, employees. After going through the whole list several times, there were four “Jo’s” to look into. Two of them had their jobs in their bios, someone in sales and the Vice president of the company. They did not seem like the types who would visit the sites regularly. It left her with a “Joe Bail” and a “Joanna Wallace.”

Joe Bail’s security settings gave her little to go on, she promptly moved on. Joanna Wallace did not have a lot to say. There were a few pictures of Lotus’ she had drawn recently and photos of her in groups. The nature of the photos, age range of the people in them made them look like family or very close friends. After a small delve into this woman’s feed she found a picture of a high-vis along with a caption of “Got the job at Prism, next step of my new life in Metropolis.” She checked the date, it was not that far off from the day the blackouts started. Kara had a name and the address of her work’s headquarters. It had taken her hours of loose theories and dead ends, but she had something solid to go on. Even if Joanna Wallace turned out to know very little, it was a least a step in the right direction. A sense of accomplishment should have found its way into her head. It was a small throwback to her proper reporting days It seemed so long ago, it felt empty.

Finding her would be simple enough, it was just a matter of keeping an eye on Prism’s headquarters. The question was how to approach her. Giving the game away of linking her directly to the blackouts could scare her away or provoke her. Some spiel about needing a consultant could do the trick. Telling her she spoke to Robert from the other site and that he recommended her expertise, it was partially true at least. She looked at the screen and rested her elbow on the desk. This woman hardly seemed threatening, smiling away with a child. If she had not done a little more digging into the replies she would never have guessed it was her niece. The lack of Joanna’s family resemblance was a theme throughout her feed.

She closed the laptop screen, for now all she could do was wait. As it clicked shut that same reminder of Lena’s sprung to mind. She sighed and opened it up to shut it down properly.


	21. Prism

More waiting around, another cheap coffee. Her uncomfortable glasses made her nose itch, the price of wearing a spare pair. The situation seemed so repetitive as she sat as near as possible to Prism’s office, once again suffering through a bad drink to look less conspicuous. She had planted herself at a cheap-looking table outside for a better view of the street, despite being near the centre of Metropolis it very much felt like an off-shoot. The street seemed only to be occupied by people rushing by or cars slowly trundling through to avoid worse traffic elsewhere, the dull weather amplified the mundanity. Prism’s headquarters address had been on their website and it was easy enough to find. Their building looked as bland as everything else. It was still quite early, so very few had gone anywhere near the building. The only people that had gone in looked nothing like the pictures of Jo. Her eyes were drawn to the Prism logo, the red sitting at the top of the spectrum mocked her. Coincidence or not, there was no escaping the domineering red light in her life.

It felt like so much more waiting was involved with this job than she remembered. This was only amplified by the desire to go out there and be Supergirl instead. She found herself questioning why she was even sitting around here in the first place. This whole endeavour was supposed to remind her of who she was as Kara Danvers or provide some respite to the ring with an alternative approach. Instead, all she noticed was she was lacking the rush she got from putting down the unjust. With her speed and the ring’s hunger for action she knew she could stop a several crimes before Jo even turned up. It was an itch that she was not letting herself scratch. Her eyes glazed over at the resentment of constantly having to restrain herself. There was no telling exactly when Jo would arrive, if she was unlucky she may have headed straight out to site visits and might not be at the office for the entire day. She did her best not to dwell on it. If it took too long she could just go in and ask around, though she preferred to interact with as few people as possible.

As she was contemplating possible bad luck, someone walked right by her table and into the coffee shop. Kara did not think much of it at first, focusing on Prism. Though as she processed what she saw, a tall, brown-eyed woman with shoulder-length hair, it dawned on her who it was. Her eyes and hair seemed a shade lighter than what she’d seen on twitter, but it was Joanna Wallace that had just walked into the coffee shop and joined a small queue. She looked down at her own half-finished coffee, she could catch Joanna on the way out. She watched her as subtly as she could get away with. Her voice seemed slightly gravelly, apart from that there was nothing out of the ordinary. Just a woman on her way to work getting a coffee. With coffee in hand Joanna moved off, narrowly avoiding another patron despite him being in clear view. After a small exchange and an apology she swung the door open.

“Excuse me?” Kara said. There was no response or acknowledgement. Kara stood up and tried again.

“Prism Electricals?” She said more forcefully, though trying not to be too loud. Joanna seemed startled as she turned and gave Kara a suspicious look over.

“Can I help you?” she said. Kara walked over to her, hoping to shake off the attention of a couple of confused onlookers.

“Sorry to startle you. I’m Kara Danvers, a reporter for CatCo. I’m looking into the Metropolis power outages,” she said. Joanna’s eyes narrowed.

“Why me?” She said. Kara did not miss a beat as an explanation flew out of her mouth.

“I was at a transformer site recently regarding the story. I’m trying to get a better understanding of it all and one of the security guys said to go to the manufacturer,” she said, purposefully not letting on she was looking for her specifically. Joanna’s expression softened, she looked over her shoulder to Prism’s headquarters, then back at Kara. With a brief glance at her watch she nodded.

“I have to be at work soon, this’ll have to be quick,” she said.

“Any of your time is valuable,” Kara smiled at her, beckoning her to her table. This friendly persona of hers she used to sport by default was exhausting to maintain. As the two got settled, Joanna rested her cup on a napkin and Kara whipped a tablet out from her bag. Joanna winced as she took a sip of the coffee.

“Too hot?” Kara said, attempting to be polite.

“Nah, I just don’t normally drink the stuff,” she said. Kara nodded, half-listening as she prepped her tablet to take any notes.

“You’re not writing that down, are you?” Joanna said. Kara glanced up at her.

“What? Oh, no I’m just setting up,” she said.

“Did you know I’d be here, this still seems a little strange,” she said. Looking at her coffee again, it looked like she was trying to muster up courage to take another sip.

“I was going to your office, got here earlier than I thought so decided to have a sit down until office hours started. You just happened to walk right by me,” she said.

“And you know I worked there?” Her suspicion not totally quashed. Kara raised an eyebrow and glanced at her polo shirt. The Prism logo was stitched in on the right side, not the real reason Kara had recognised her, but it worked in her favour. Joanna tracked down to wear Kara was looking and laughed slightly.

“Ah… that’s a bit of a giveaway isn’t it,” she said.

“Is it okay for me to ask you a few questions on the record?” Kara said. She was not sure if she was actually going to do a write-up, but it would not hurt to have the option.

“Sure,” she said, taking out a pencil of her own.

“Can I get your name and position please?” Kara said.

“Joanna Wallace, you can call me Jo. I’m a technician, mainly dealing with the equipment we provide for clients and the city,” she said.

“Thank you, Jo. Seems I found the right person to talk too, as a technician I assume you do inspections and visits, is there anything wrong with the tech in the blackout areas?” She said.

“Look, I’ll be honest, there’s not a lot I can tell you that the big-wigs haven’t already confirmed. Everything seems to be in order before and after the power goes out,” she said, idly drawing on her napkin.

“There must be something they’re not saying, I mean that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense,” she said.

“If it made any sense they might be able to stop it happening,” she said. Kara’s eyes flitted away for a moment. She pushed her glasses higher up her nose.

“You haven’t had any direct contact with the machines that are playing up?” Kara said.

“Afraid not, sorry if that isn’t helpful,” she said. Kara was sure she was being lied too, Robert’s statement proved that much. What gave her pause was how the ring did not react, it never kept quiet if there was any malicious intent toward her. She brushed it with her thumb, the constant burning from it rose slightly, Joanna’s eyes darted to her hand as it did. Kara reached out to her tablet with her ring hand, worried it had made itself visible on its own bizarre whim. She stretched out at the screen and saw no ring on her hand. It was still invisible, yet Joanna’s eyes followed her hand intently.

“Jo?” Kara said. Jo shook her head in a quick motion and blinked very quickly.

“Sorry, another reason I may not be of much help. I’ve been a bit out of it recently, I’ve been thinking about taking some days off work, it’s just I haven’t had this job that long, you know?” She said. Kara quickly forced another smile in an attempt to reassure, unable to decide whether it was for her or Jo.

“I get it, probably just stress of the new job, you’ll settle in,” Kara said. She spotted an opportunity in the barely touched coffee. “You know, overdoing caffeine will probably cause more harm than good.” Jo sucked in some air through her teeth.

“I doubt I’d be able to have finished it anyway, no idea why people obsess over that stuff” Jo said.

“Can I have it? Hate to see it go to waste,” Kara said.

“Sure,” Jo said, merrily pushing the cup away from her side of the table.

“Is there anything you can tell me from a technician’s perspective that’ll give me more of an insight?” Kara said.

“You can maybe find out who serviced them directly, but I’m afraid I can’t think of anything,” she glanced at her watch and sat up straight. “Sorry, I need to get going. I feel like you’ve wasted your time.”

“Don’t worry about it, it was a gamble anyway,” Kara said. She watched Jo gather her things and bid her goodbye. She watched her walk off, not looking for traffic as she crossed the street into the nearby office. Kara listened in, only a few greetings were thrown around, she tuned out of it before long. She glanced at where her ring would be and took a deep breath. Her time with Jo had only spawned more questions. She had lied, and something was certainly off about her. She was sure Jo had something to do with it all or was hiding something. It was the ring’s lack of interest in anything Jo said or did that threw a spanner in the works. She waited a moment before picking up the coffee Jo had left her. She looked at the rim before reaching for her phone. Lena’s name was sitting at the top of her speed-dial list. Kara fiddled with the cup and anything within reach while the phone rang, she dragged over Joanna’s napkin. She had drawn another Lotus, similar to the ones she had on her twitter feed.

“Hi Kara, I’m with someone at the moment,” Lena’s voiced broke the ambience.

“Not a problem, but I could call later?” This was usually Lena’s way of making sure any Supergirl related topics were worded carefully, but Kara liked to check anyway.

“Erm… give me a few moments” Lena said, she heard Lena tell someone to hold on, echoing footsteps and a door shut before her voice was clear again. “Alright, what do you need?”

“I’ll be quick. Do you know anything about the power cuts in Metropolis?” she said, looking up at some sad looking power-lines.

“Only in passing, why?” she said.

“I’ve spent this break investigating it.” She picked up the cup again. “I’ve got a coffee cup someone drank from, I’m assuming you can determine if someone’s a meta-human or an alien from their DNA?”

“You’re reporting again? That’s great to hear,” Lena stopped, it sounded like she was hoping for a response of some kind, Kara stayed silent. With a reluctant hesitation Lena carried on “As to your question, I can do that, although I’d like a bit more detail before doing something of that nature.”

“I found and spoke to someone that seems close to it all. She was lying about her whereabouts and seems a little off to me.” Kara thought back to her experience outside the hospital and Joanna’s laser focus on the invisible ring. “My theory is she may have the ability to siphon or steal energy.”

“What do you mean by a little off?” Lena said.

“A bit spaced out, overly tired. It could just be the stress of her job, but something just seems wrong about it to me.” There was a pause before Lena responded. “Lena?”

“Can you bring this cup to me at 11am? I’ll be in my L-Corp office, we can talk about your reporting and catch up a bit,” she said.

“Sure,” Kara said, she was not sure she had a whole lot to say to her, but Lena always liked to offer.

“Who is this person by the way?” Lena said.

“A technician at an electronics manufacturer called Prism, Joanna Wallace,” she said.

“Thanks, I think my forensics gear was starting to feel unloved anyway. Anything else?” Lena said. Lena’s closeness to her lab equipment was a cute little quirk of hers.

“No, that’ll do for now. See you at eleven,” she said.

“Bye for now, take care,” Lena said

“Thanks, you too,” she said, the call ended. Kara grabbed the cup, she did not want to pursue Prism or Jo any further without confirmation. Her phone returned to its dormant state. She stared at the Prism logo again. There was no joy from what was feeling like progress. Old Kara would have been relentless in pursuing the case until everything was put to light. If this investigation was about finding that old spark, it was failing miserably. She thought back to Bloodsport, Bleez hitting him had been a rush akin to what reporting had once been to her. Shielding the hospital and her talk with Bleez only further muddied her grasp of what she was going through. The ring no doubt had its claws dug into how she thought and acted. Her boredom with this case and the thrill of violence was a largely new phenomenon after all. What she did not want to think about was how much of an influence the ring really was. It felt far too easy to purely blame it, these feelings the ring was latching on to and pushing forward had to have come from somewhere. Fronts, hiding and layers. She was undecided how much of Kara Danver’s actions were hers or if the ring was merely accelerating how she had always longed to be. Even if it sat somewhere in the middle, the potential danger she presented to everyone around her was obvious to see. It was a danger she knew even Lena may not be immune to. It added a certain edge to arranging another meeting with her.

A large truck noisily whooshed by, breaking her sight to the prism logo and that domineering red in its spectrum. She tore her sight away and looked back at the table. The empty chair, artful napkin and coffee sat quietly. The ring sent another burning pulse through her veins as she stepped off and gathered what she needed, clearly it enjoyed the idea of tormenting her now she had a couple of hours to kill.


	22. Return

Lena’s return was lackadaisical when she came back into to the lab. The slow, pondering steps were as if she was in deep thought.

“Is everything okay?” Sam asked, she had rarely seen Lena this distracted.

“Yes,” Lena said, still not quite with her. She snapped out of this mild trance and her eyes widened. “Sorry, I just need to make one more quick call,” she said. Sam nodded and glanced around the overly familiar room. The last couple of months had been spent in two places. Superman’s back room and labs just like this one. Though she thought she had grown tired of it all, she had kept putting off chances to leave. That would finally change as today was the day she had finally decided to return to the real world, with Ruby transferring back to her school in National City and excited to live with her again, there was no turning back.

She was sat on a stool near one of the several workbenches. The lab had a shine to it, save for the beaten area where the upper limits of her new arm were tested. There had been a lot of lifting heavy objects and smashing hard surfaces while Lena recorded every outcome, checking and double checking everything she could. She had been assured by Lena that everything was in order, she found herself insisting on doing everything again and again as an excuse to put things off just that little bit longer.

“I need you to go to Metropolis, now,” Lena had not bothered to step outside for this call and her voice echoed around the large space. Sam did her best not to eavesdrop, but even now she was still getting used to her heightened senses.

“Sure thing.” A male voice she did not recognise was on the other side of the call. There was a pause.

“You’re not going to ask any more questions?” Lena asked.

“I kind of assumed there’d be a follow-up,” he said. Lena glanced over her shoulder.

“I’ll send you the details shortly, just get a ticket to somewhere central,” she said.

“I’m supposed to be the vague one. Is someone listening? Tell them I said hello,” he said. Lena sighed heavily, letting the silence stew. “You’re not going to say hello from me, are you?”

“You know I’m not,” she said. He tutted.

“Shame,” He said.

Lena exhaled from her nose sharply.

“Drain,” she said.

“I’ll get there ASAP,” he said, his jaunty tone had fallen off instantly. Lena pulled the phone away from her ear and she strode back from the corner with a concerned look on her face.

“What’s up?” Sam asked.

“Personal business. Don’t worry about it,” Lena said. It was understandable how Lena could act strange around her sometimes. Though she barely remembered anything when Reign had been in control, one image that had stuck with her was her hand around Lena’s neck. Despite this, Lena had been supportive the entire time and Ruby had taken a real shine to her. Lena sank an extensive amount of work in helping their recovery, both physically and mentally. She decided not to pry, it was the least she could do.

Lena pulled up a stool next to her.

“Now, I know the first day back is going to be daunting. I’ve made sure everything’s been cleared, your constant change in look during… well…” Lena swallowed hard and gave herself a moment. “It’s extremely unlikely you’ll be recognised, and if you are, procedures are in place.” Sam nodded silently, though recognition was the least of her worries. She had grown accustomed to her ghost-white skin and red hair, it was the public eye she was worried about. The bionic, black arm was incredible, but she had no doubt in her mind as to how much attention it would draw.

“And one more parting gift from the lab.” Lena said, picking out a small device from her jacket pocket and presenting it to her. It was a small leather-strapped watch with a blue and red face.

“While there’s no chance of relapse, I know you’re concerned for Ruby’s safety. I’m hoping this will provide some peace of mind.” She held the watch up to her, pointing at three buttons on the right side. “If all three are pressed at the same time, Superman and I will be notified of her location immediately. We both have devices that are linked to it for communication as well, the range is practically unlimited.”

Sam smiled at her, it was a thoughtful gift. Lena had always taken her concerns seriously, even the few times it felt like she was being humoured she knew it came from a good place.

“With how much she likes Superman, she might use it just to say hi,” she said. Lena laughed.

“Please stress to her that it’s for emergencies only.” Sam took the watch and studied its simple design. Ruby had never expressed interest in wearing one, the connection to Lena and Superman would probably change that attitude. She reminded herself to tell Ruby to keep her connection to all this secret, the last thing she needed was school kids gossiping about the peculiar developments in her private life.

Lena’s smile faded as she carried on.

“As for your job, it’s a bit tricky. In all honesty I replaced the C.F.O. spot quickly as I could, I didn’t know how long you’d be gone and I needed someone in place to undo Prometheus’ more long term damage. Keeping investors from bailing and whatnot. I’d gladly take you back into L-Corp, you’d be a fantastic asset to the company, but publicly it would look like a demotion. Same goes for saying you were fired, you’d have the severance package to work with but career-wise it could look bad for you.”

She thought for a moment, she was in no mood to dive straight back into a job at all, let alone a demotion. She had cash-bought the house, the perks of being a high earner, and had savings to throw at any living expenses for a while.

“Just say I quit for personal reasons, I’m alright for money,” she said. Lena furrowed her brow.

“If you’re sure, I can pull some strings if you want a new job elsewhere.” Sam held her hand out as the cogs in Lena’s brain turned away.

“It’s okay, really, I think I want some time away from work to figure out…” she gestured to herself and the prosthetic “all this, first.” Lena nodded, it looked like she wanted to say more but she refrained. Instead she put some keys down on the workbench, they jangled and scratched against the surface.

“I’ve got your house keys here. Superman will bring Ruby and her things over from Metropolis this evening, works out late afternoon our time. I think that covers it all,” Lena said. Sam slowly dragged the keys across, it was peculiar. Her sense of touch with the prosthetic seemed so real, it was the slight differences that were still noticeable. It would take time to get used to the mild detachment and odd tingles that occasionally made their way across the whole thing. Her unease was exacerbated by the mixture of excitement and fear she felt for going back to her old life. Ruby’s spirits had hardly seemed to have dampened at all when she visited her at the Fortress. Even without any sign of it, the worry that Ruby would see her differently, or even fear her in this new state still lingered. Once everything was settled again, she might long for her mother before the change. Deep down she knew that was not in Ruby’s nature, though her being so young there was no way of really knowing what effect it could have. She tried not to dwell on it, letting the reassurances of Clark and Lena run through her head.

“Thank you, Lena” Sam said.

“It’s nothing, keys are easy enough to keep an eye on and Superman…”

“No, I mean thank you for everything. You’ve done so much for me and Ruby. I know what I… what Reign did to you. You’d have been well within your right to never want to see me again, let alone caring for my daughter and ensuring my safety,” Sam said cutting her off.

Lena cocked her head.

“You may look the same, you may even feel what she felt. But the Sam I’ve come to know couldn’t be further from Reign. You deserve all the love and support you’ve gotten, it’s what’s made it such a pleasure to do all this for you,” she said. Sam did her best to hold back tears in the face of such kindness. She went into hug her, Lena flinched away.

“Oh… er, sorry,” Sam said, having forgotten herself. Lena closed her eyes and breathed heavily.

“It’s okay,” Lena said, looking embarrassed. She recomposed herself and hugged Sam. It was notably uncomfortable for the both of them, though Sam appreciated the sentiment.

“I won’t waste what you’ve done for me, you’re giving me my life back, I shan’t soon forget it. I can’t think how I can repay you…” she said, her anxieties starting to wash away. She had taken the step forward and now was wandering why there had been any hesitance at all.

“No need for repayment, just let me keep seeing Ruby from time to time,” Lena said.

“I don’t think I could keep her away. Sam said. Lena smiled again. After everything she had been through it was refreshing to truly let some positivity into her life again.

“Come on, I’ll escort you out and my driver can take you home,” Lena started to tidy a few things away and tucked in the stool.

Sam stood up, making her way over to the exit. Lena had touched her thumb against a pad, the lights were shutting off behind her as she walked on. Each fear she had embraced falling away with each row of lights clicking off. She knew it was not the last she would see of a lab like this, for now though it was cathartic, watching the door close as the last light shut itself off.


	23. Home

The house seemed smaller than before despite it being the same spacious design she had fell in love with when she first viewed the place. All that time spent in open labs and an icy cavern seemed to have messed with her perspective. It smelled fresh and things seemed shinier than when she was in charge of keeping everything in order. Lena must have had it cleaned while she was gone. She thought to herself how it would not last long, her lack of time between looking after Ruby and her own work always kept anything other than a quick tidy off the cards. It dawned on her that she no longer had the work side of things, her time was her own.

Whoever had been through here with a whirlwind of cleaning supplies had been extremely thorough and re-arranged a few spots. She spent this time reacquainting herself with all the drawers and shelves. Cutlery clanged together as she put things back in order and did what she could to return everything to its rightful place. As she toured the house she spotted a couple of bags sitting on top of one of her taller cabinets, no doubt cast aside in the cleaning efforts and left above it all. The bag strayed a little too far from her reach, even when she stretched up onto her toes. Her mechanical fingers scraped along the wood and only ended up pushing the bag slightly further out of reach. She huffed and looked around the room, looking for something to stand on. The coffee table and some wayward chairs caught her eye. She grabbed a chair a plonked it next to the cabinet, it creaked as she stepped up, she grabbed the bag and chucked it to the carpet below with a gentle thud. Her attempt to dismount the chair was more careless than she would have liked and it slipped from beneath her feet. Instinctively she lashed out to try and grab hold of something, only to take a chunk out of the cabinet as her grip ripped right through it. In that moment she braced herself, closing her eyes and knowing the floor would show little mercy. When that moment stretched out to a few seconds and she was yet to feel the floor’s attack, she opened her eyes to find herself floating. The powers besides her strength had not really occurred to her as she slowly spiralled a few inches above the ground. Disorientation started to kick in as her rotation inched her closer to swinging upside-down. She refused to let go of whatever force was keeping her afloat due to fear of a less than graceful landing. Superman had always carried her between any testing sites and his Fortress, at first it was not to strain her or risk any correlation between her power and Reign. When this was cleared it was her own worries that kept her from exploring this new side of herself. There was no sign of particular negativity or an urge to conquer anything cropping up, only relief that no-one could see her in this moment of clumsiness. Hair flopped over her face as the gradual orbit finally turned her fully upside-down. She tried to blow it off, but it just ended up back in place. She was still in two minds about dyeing it back to what used to be its natural colour. She had never pictured herself with red hair, her unexpected transformation had changed that outlook very quickly.

After spending a few more minutes avoiding the ground she made the decision to try some sort of landing. Being found in a permanent orbit next to a broken cabinet was not how she wanted to be found for the sake of her dignity as well as wanting to at least appear stable for Ruby’s sake. Her vision blurred, the prolonged amount of time spent spinning upside-down was giving her a headache. Though she had to admit, the room did bigger from this perspective. A lack of furniture on the ceiling made it seem a lot larger than the floorspace. Her hair was tickling her nostrils as she hung, she blew it away to no avail once more. She closed her eyes, picturing herself righting her slow trajectory. A small dizzying rush came over her as she rotated to the correct position. The world was the right way up again. Her feet dangled away and her toes barely brushed against the soft carpet.

With a concerted effort, her feet hit the ground. It had very much been a case of falling rather than a gentle landing, any more than a few inches off the ground would have made it a significantly more violent return to Earth. Part of her wanted to try again, she hesitated, knowing that a lack of control could end up with her flying off with no solid idea on how to get down again. Testing powers in the house she just got back was decidedly a bad idea. Whether to test them further elsewhere or try and forget would be a decision for later.

She watched the clock as the day went by, unsure what to do with herself. Most of the time she ended up over-preparing for Ruby’s arrival. It was late afternoon, no doubt there’d be a small delay due to her last day in Metropolis. The time went by quickly, even when there finally was a knock on the door she did not quite feel ready.

She swung the door open and Ruby immediately pounced on her, holding her tight. She squeezed back, holding her back as much as she could at the awkward angle. They held each other for a long time, neither wanted to let go. After everything it was a moment to savour as the two were reunited in their home. When she finally started paying attention to the world outside of her daughter’s return she saw Superman beaming away in the porch, he had a couple of boxes beside him with Ruby’s things in. She beckoned Ruby in and went over to him.

“I’m sorry, I’ll get out of your way,” she said.

“No need to apologise, it’s nice seeing you two together. I’ll bring these in for you,” he said, still smiling. She moved aside and followed him in. Ruby stood in the middle of the room, taking it all in. Superman placed the boxes down in the front room and turned to her.

“Welcome home,” he said. It was his turn to get a hug from Ruby.

“Care to stay for a bit,” Sam said. Superman turned to her, Ruby, still wrapped around his leg cut in.

“Pleeeeease?” She said. Superman chuckled

“I guess I can’t say no to that,” he said.

“Pull up a stool by the kitchen bar, I’ll see what I have,” she said, only now realising after all the rearranging she had done, food or drink had not crossed her mind once. The cold hit her face as she was met with the sight of a largely empty fridge.

“I can offer you water, or squash” she said, slightly embarrassed.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, his cape flapping over his side. She was stood behind the counter, elated to see Ruby digging into the boxes and getting comfortable with no hesitation or tentativeness.

“Thank you for this. For everything” she said.

“No need for thanks, happy to help,” he said. Ruby pulled up alongside them and plonked a card down on the counter.

“And how was your last day?” she said.

“Everyone was really nice, they got me this card, even the teachers signed it. I got really good grades while I was there, Lois was sad, I didn’t get to say goodbye to Clark though,” she said, rushing through her words excitably.

“Clark was working, but I’m sure you’ll see him again soon,” Superman said.

“Do you know what Clark and Lois like? I want to get them a bottle or a gift as a way of thanks,” she said. He chuckled to himself.

“I have a pretty good idea, I’ll write down some suggestions,” he said.

The three of them chatted away, mostly listening to Ruby spout about her time in Metropolis. It was hard not to get caught up in her excitement and a joy to see her so happy again, her other visits had always felt too short. Ruby had dug into the boxes a few times to show off some top marks and a Superman poster. She even dragged him into her old room to show him where she was putting it up in there. It seemed to make him uncomfortable, Sam smirked at his humility. It dawned on her how delightfully odd it was witnessing the famous Man of Steel be dragged around her home by her daughter. After some more time chatting and Ruby starting to calm down slightly, Superman looked to the door.

“It’s been a pleasure, but I really should get going,” he said. Ruby groaned. “Don’t worry, I’ll come and visit again,” he said.

“You promise?” Ruby said, grabbing his hand

“I promise,” he said, kneeling to her level and touching her shoulder. Sam led him over, whilst Ruby waved him away.

“Thank you for this,” Sam said, slightly closing the door off and poking her head around it. It was her best attempt to shield him from Ruby’s onslaught of happiness.

“Any time. Take care,” he said, looking to set off.

“One more thing,” Sam said, glancing over her shoulder. Ruby’s concentration had waned, fatigue from a long day an excitable couple of hours starting to get the better of her. “The powers, did you get a hold of them quickly?” Superman looked slightly unsure at the question.

“It took me a fairly long time, lots of… interesting moments in my early days. Why do you ask?” He said.

“I took a tumble off a chair earlier and ended up floating around for a bit,” she said. His smile quickly returned.

“Ah, yes. Flying takes a bit of getting used too but it comes naturally after a few attempts. As for anything else, it takes a lot of concentration and a concerted effort for them to trigger in any meaningful way so I wouldn’t about any accidents,” he said.

“That’s a relief,” she said, a wealth of new worries flooding her head at the mention of potential other powers. Superman picked up on it straight away.

“If you have any concerns or anything unexpected happens, just talk to Clark, Lois or Lena. They know how to reach me,” he said. She nodded.

“I’ll let you get on your way. Goodbye, and again, thank you for everything.” He shot her a wink and blasted off into the sky. The gust from his launch blew the grass around it into a flattened circle, she went over to it brushing back to a more presentable state. As she did, she noticed the house opposite the street had someone peeking through a blind. They vanished behind it when she caught their eye. She spotted more prying eyes as she glanced around the neighbourhood, any hope of a quiet return had just been dashed. There was a boy a few doors over who was brave enough to keep staring despite being noticed. She gave him an uneasy wave, it seemed to make the boy more nervous. It was then she realised she’d waved at him with the prosthetic. She quickly ducked inside, ignoring the lawn and hoping the arm did not appear too outlandish. The door slammed behind her, startling Ruby. Her strength was harder to control when nerves started to set in.

“Are you okay,” Ruby’s voice settled her quickly. She took a deep breath and smiled at her.

“Never better,” she said. Ruby had planted herself in the front room and was rummaging through the boxes again. Her things were piling up on the table, the spotless condition of the house had not lasted long.

“I hope you plan on tidying those up,” she said. Ruby ignored her and kept digging. She set herself down next to Ruby. There was not that much to go through, but Ruby picked up the pace as she dove into the second box.

“What are you looking for?” Sam said.

“My phone, I think it fell to the bottom,” Ruby said. Sam’s heart sank a little.

“Bored of me already are you?” she said.

“No, I want a picture of us,” Ruby said. She could not help but smile, such a simple desire from Ruby got right to her core. The love she felt for her daughter and how happy she was to be back in her life was nearly overwhelming. She hugged her and leant forward, she could see the phone under a pile of various knick-knacks. She reached in, her artificial arm brushing against Ruby’s hand. She pulled away slightly, surprised by its touch. Sam hesitated before pulling out the phone and handing it to her. Ruby grabbed it quickly, fiddling with it and quickly bringing up the forward-facing camera. She got in close so they were both in frame, clicking away at the button to get several shots. A couple of photos in Ruby stuck her tongue out and Sam could not help but pull a silly face in response.

Ruby laughed as she scrolled through them, she was glad to see her like this. A self-conscious pang crept in as she smiled at her daughter, these were the first photos of her after the transformation. Even having gotten used to her reflection over the past month, seeing the photos with Ruby seemed different somehow. Ruby embracing it so whole-heartedly was enough to reassure her for the most part, it made it much easier to think she would get used to over time.

“Can I stay with you tomorrow, have a day out or something?” Ruby shifted, looking her in the eyes. She was tempted to say yes, one day of school would not be much of a loss. Her common sense prevailed, the school would be expecting her and from what she could tell the staff there had largely been kept in the dark as to her and Ruby’s circumstances. The cover story was a rare health concern that only specialists in Metropolis could treat, it was close to the truth all things considered. She thought better of stretching the school’s trust any further or having them ask more questions.

“We’ll have time at the weekend,” she said. Ruby’s shoulders slumped slightly.

“Okay then,” she said semi-defeated, it sounded like it was the answer she was expecting. She put her arm around Ruby and stroked her cheek with her real hand. Though the differences were subtle, it was so much more real. Ruby cuddled into her.

Sam stared off into nowhere as her hand brushed against Ruby’s skin. She ran through the simple tasks for the next day, like the school run and grocery shopping. The muffled whirs of her artificial fingers served to remind her of her neighbours and that a regular day had the potential to be a lot more interesting than she would like. She turned back to her daughter, they were tomorrow’s problems.


	24. Welcome

She tapped the steering wheel nervously. The sound of the artificial fingers pattering against the leather seemed so strange and the smooth. She kept stealing glances at Ruby, her excitement for this school-run was the only thing that kept her nerves from truly getting the better of her. Luckily it was cool enough to justify long sleeves, of course the weather had not been kind enough to justify gloves. The greyish black of her right hand almost matched the colour of the steering wheel itself. Ruby having seemingly no trouble with it at least made it easier to deal with. She wanted to return Ruby’s strength and patience by trying to keep things as normal as possible. Even if she had worn gloves, there was little she could have done to hide her face. Even having grown used to her new features, glimpses of herself in the rear-view mirror could still catch her off-guard. She reassured herself it was the new environment putting her off and continued to drum against the wheel.

A horn sounded off behind her, the car in front of her was long gone. She quickly put her foot down to compensate. The car shot forward, she misjudged how short the distance was to move along in the dense traffic and needed to brake relatively hard. She braced for the change in force, expecting the inertia to throw her forward only to find she had remained firm. It surprised Ruby and she was caught by the seatbelt.

“Are you okay?” she said.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Ruby said, it had been minor and she seemed to shrug it off easily enough.

“Sorry about that,” she said. Sam looked at her hand and rubbed her chin, she had not felt the push and pull of the car at all. The forces that would normally fling her around seemed to have lost this battle with her. She shook off these thoughts when she looked to Ruby. She prided herself on her adaptability, this was just a particularly strong test for those skills. The rest of the journey was relatively uneventful. The traffic lightened and clear weather made it an easy trip when she switched her focus to enjoying Ruby’s company. The school building got ever closer as the car rumbled on, though they were still a few minutes away she could already hear the chatter of the kids and the usual humdrum of the start of a school day. It took extra focus, but she managed to hone her hearing back to a more comfortable range. She hoped the finer control of her strength and the flying would come naturally a little sooner now she had the real world to contend with. As she checked the sides of the roads she saw plenty of places to pull over, a few students were walking by but the streets were calm enough and not many people seemed to be paying too much attention. They were focused in the direction they were going rather than people popping out of cars around them. It came time to ask the question she had debated with herself the day before.

“Do you want me to pull over here, or should I drop you off right by the school?” she asked. Ruby looked confused.

“Right by the school,” Ruby said. The idea of being embarrassed by her strange-looking mother had not even seemed to have occurred to her. She pulled away from spaces to park with a smile on her face. The site of grouped up children with bags that were slightly too big for them came into view as they loitered outside the school grounds. Soon enough they were parked nearby, the click and whir of Ruby’s seatbelt flying off was surprisingly enthusiastic.

“Glad to be back I see,” she said.

“It’s felt like forever, it’ll be good to see my friends again,” Ruby said. As she got out with no bag, Sam realised she had instinctively put it in the boot before they set out. Any hopes of staying even remotely discreet were out of the question now. She took a deep breath, with Ruby’s approval she figured she may as well steer into the skid. She unclicked her own seatbelt, she stretched her arms and legs as she got out of the car. Bad idea or not, she could not stop her eyes darting to the front of the school to look for reactions. She noticed a few people giving her strange looks as she emerged. She did her best to ignore them and walked around the car, opening the boot for Ruby. She grabbed her bag and handed it to her.

“Have a great day, I’ll see you later,” she said.

“Thanks Mum,” Ruby said, set on scampering off.

“Look carefully before crossing the road,” she said. The traffic by the school was not even moving as people dropped off their children in the least considerate places they could find. It was a habit people managed to keep in her absence. Ruby turned to give her a slightly bemused look, she knew what she was doing, though it would never stop her telling her to be careful. Ruby turned again to set off but hesitated and stopped herself for a moment.

“Love you, Mum,” she said, before heading by the unmoving cars and into the school grounds. Sam stood by the car, her eyes followed Ruby’s path into the building. She clocked Ruby getting stopped for a brief conversation with Mrs.Bennett, the school’s principle. She was unsure about whether to listen in, she was certainly curious. She opted against it, part of the package of adjusting back to regular life was not to abuse her new abilities. If anything, she could just ask Ruby later. Ruby seemed to move off quickly, though Sam did not know where to look when Mrs.Bennett immediately walked out the entrance and headed toward way. She was an older woman and seemed to care little about hiding it. Grey hair, glasses on small chains and an old-fashioned dress sense all added to this. Whenever they had spoken in the past, Mrs.Bennett was energetic and savvy, it made her think the look she went for was very much intentional. Either way it made for a slightly comedic scene as she jogged out, no faster than walking, and waved her down. She looked taken aback when Sam waved back. She noticed it was because she had waved with her right hand again, she would either have to get used to the reaction or train herself to greet people with her left hand.

“Ms.Arias, so good to see you again,” Mrs.Bennett said as she approached.

“It’s good to be back,” she said. She watched the Principle’s expressions closely.

“I’ve missed Ruby, she’s such a bright young thing,” Mrs. Bennett said, she was not subtle in her attempt to take in the sight before her. The official line that the school was told was a rare disease that only specialist equipment in Metropolis could treat, she imagined this did not translate to ghost-white skin and a robotic arm in the staff’s mind.

“She was excited to come back, she missed this place a lot,” Sam said, starting to feel slightly more self-conscious as more parents and students began to look their way.

“I’ve always loved her enthusiasm. Anyway, I just wanted a quick chat. There are a few things to sort out admin-wise now that she’s returned. Nothing too strenuous I assure you,” she said.

“I’ll be happy to do what’s needed, if it’s paperwork I’d prefer you e-mail it to me though,” she said.

“That’s no problem at all,” she said, she hesitated slightly and adjusted her glasses. “Apologies if this is a little forward but I also have to say the PTA has lacked a certain… drive, in your absence. I wouldn’t ask if you didn’t seem up for it, it’s just you seem to be in remarkable condition all things considered. If you have the energy it would be great to have you back.”

Sam was unsure how to respond, the request seemed genuine rather than her trying to be polite.

“Well the treatments were certainly very effective,” she said, deciding against directly addressing the elephant in the room. “I’d like a bit of time to think, I’ll be picking up Ruby at the end of the day. I can print out and hand over any admin in person if you’d prefer. If I’ve decided whether to dive back in by then I’ll let you know,” she said.

“No problem at all Ms.Arias, I’m so glad that things have turned out so well for you and Ruby, we’ve all been praying for your health and safe return,” she said.

“Thank you, it means a lot,” she said, hiding a smirk. If they had only known how bizarre the circumstances they had been praying about were.

“Well, I must be going, take as much time as you need,” she said. Mrs. Bennett glanced back at her a few times as she walked away.

She took a deep breath as she got back in the car, there were still a fair few prying eyes her way. She found herself caring less than she thought she would.

When she returned the home the rest of the day flew by. The admin thrown her way was simple enough to deal with. She had been worried her odd circumstances would make some questions difficult to answer, Lena’s cover story was more than comprehensive enough. She had spent the past few hours going over what the school had thrown at her, checking over and over for any inconsistencies or odd answers that would make Ruby’s transition back to National City more difficult. As she was getting herself in order she was interrupted by a knock at the door. She had only been back for a day and was not expecting anyone. She froze in place for a moment, the door seemed ominous and approaching it was hard to muster courage for. As she looked around the room it occurred to her she did not need to approach to see who was visiting any more. She squinted slightly and saw the other side easily enough. A smartly dressed, short-haired woman was waiting there. She slowly made her way over, inspecting this woman with each step. She opened the door carefully and a badge was quickly flashed at her.

“Hello there Ms. Arias, Alex Danvers, F.B.I.” was said at her. She opened the door wider at seeing the badge. Quickly noticing this woman’s hands were of a similar design to her own prosthetic, her tense shoulders quickly relaxed again. This woman looked oddly expectant.

“Hello, can I help you?” she said. Her face seemed to relax slightly at this response.

“May I come in?” she said.

“Oh of course, sorry, I wasn’t expecting visitors,” she said, stepping aside.

“Sorry to drop by unannounced, Ms. Luthor has been working with us to ensure your transition. Just wanted to check in on you,” she said. Any suspicion she had was quelled when Alex took her jacket off, almost the entirety of her arms were the same design as hers. Sam moved toward the fridge, she was about to offer something, then remembered she was yet to do a grocery trip.

“I’m afraid all I can offer you is water,” she said.

“Don’t worry about that, I was asked to swing by to see how you were settling back in,” Alex said.

“That’s nice, I must say it’s been surprisingly easy so far,” she said, offering her a seat on the sofa. Alex obliged, Sam took the chair nearby, she found herself doing her best to sit up straight.

“Well, we’ve done what we can on our end to keep things smooth, you’d probably be reassured that your daughter’s school have a knack for detail, harder work for us but they certainly have her wellbeing at heart,” she said. Sam laughed nervously and looked over to her laptop, suddenly no longer satisfied with the job she had done.

“Well I’d like to say I can’t thank you enough, I’m guessing my situation was quite a difficult one to get your heads around,” she said. Alex chuckled.

“Certainly more unique, I’ll give you that. It’s nothing we can’t handle,” she said. Sam nodded, trying to keep her attention away from the prosthetics Alex was merrily waving around as she spoke. Alex noticed her watching them intently, she guessed as an FBI agent she was more attentive than most.

“Sorry,” she said.

“Ha, don’t worry about it. Of all people I imagine you understand better than most,” Alex said, flexing her fingers.

“I guess so, if you don’t mind me asking, how long have you had them,” she said, she wondered whether asking how it happened was appropriate.

“Oh, a while now,” Alex said.

“Do you get used to them?” She asked. Alex sighed.

“In a way, as good as they are, that detached sense of touch never really goes away,” she said.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to pry,” Sam said, suddenly very aware of the tingling in her real arm.

“It’s fine, feel free to ask this sort of thing. I’m here to help you settle,” Alex said.

“Apart from a few odd looks thrown my way I’ve done alright so far, granted I’m only a day in,” Sam said.

“I guess I’m lucky that most the people I know are used to injuries and odd sights. I know of some support groups that you might find useful,” she said. Sam rubbed her arms, unsure how she would be received at something like that.

“How helpful are they?” She asked. Alex seemed to stop herself at first, before making eye contact with her.

“I’ve heard they can be very therapeutic,” she said, adjusting her shirt uncomfortably. Sam looked at her own arm, it was not something she had really considered, concerned if maybe the reality of it was yet to hit her.

“Well, if these check-ups are regular then I can talk to you about it,” Sam said.

“Well actually, that does lead me onto my next point. I was going to wait but it seems like you’ve already settled in somewhat,” she said. Sam leaned in closer as Alex carried on. “I have to admit, your particular set of skills is something we’re very much interested in. Lena said you declined her offers and wanted some time off…” she trailed off.

“Are you about to offer me a job?” Sam said.

“I guess, look I know it’s early but someone who can thrive as CFO of one of the biggest companies in the world could help us a lot,” she said. Sam stopped and allowed herself to think, she had surprised herself with how easy the school run had been and without the school throwing admin at her she probably would have struggled to fill the time.

“Is this a standing offer? I was hesitant to re-join the PTA today let alone the FBI,” she said.

“Yes. I apologise if it seems insensitive to ask you so soon. I hope you understand, someone as capable as you could do some great things and we don’t want to pass that up,” she said.

“No offense taken, I imagine I wouldn’t be able to sit still for long. I’d like to wait a bit and think about my options first. I’ve been fine so far but it’s still early days,” she said. Alex handed a card over.

“Call me whenever, even if it’s just to talk about settling back in or arm troubles. And as far as the offer, even if its just consulting for a few hours a week, we’d love to welcome you back into work,” she said.

“Thank you,” Sam said, she sat back slightly. It was nice to have a contact that at least partially understood what she would be going through. As she sank back, Alex seemed to get less comfortable.

“I hope all continues to be well, unless you have anything else to ask I should be on my way,” she said, moving off from the sofa. Sam followed her to see her out.

“Thank you, Agent Danvers. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can,” she said.

“Alex is fine, and no rush. Even if you just want to talk, you can call that number,” she said.

She closed the door, alone again. It had already been an odd day, she had feared what it would bring but already everyone seemed to want to be her friend. Even with the niggling doubts eating at her, it was clear she was put together enough for people to ask for her help. She was glad Lena had talked her into coming back. She looked at her home and a large smile crept its way on to her face, things were working out better than she could have hoped. All that hesitation and delaying seemed ridiculous in hindsight. After taking a few moments to reflect on how well things were going the realties of the day started to flood back in. She had forms to look over, she had the school’s apparent attention to detail to deal with. She also made a note on her shopping list for later, a reminder to splash out on the gift for Lena, Lois and Clark.


	25. Visit

The days had flown by, she had quickly fallen into a routine occasionally broken up with visits from Alex Danvers. Her staring contests with the house door got marginally easier each time she had to go out for an errand or do a school run. The fact Ruby was showing no trouble settling back in was a blessing. It was out of her control for now, she was still not used to the looks and whispers when she was in public spaces. Thinking of Ruby was always the perfect salve for that drilling feeling off being watched or judged from afar. Mrs. Bennet was still pressing her to rejoin the PTA, each time getting a clearer picture that her organisation and ability to get to the point was sorely missed. It was a trait she prided herself on, she was certain it was why Lena hired her and why the FBI had been so eager to throw an opportunity her way. It was good to be in demand.

These idle thoughts floated around her head, she hummed to herself as she pulled into her driveway. The humming stopped when she saw a man leaning in her porch, he watched her intently. She felt a chill on the back of her neck as she pulled into her drive, unblinking eyes looking her over through the windscreen. She patted her side, her phone beckoned. Though tempted to call the police, there was an unsettling familiarity to him that stopped her. The man was clean-cut, wearing a plain hoodie and jeans. Thoughts raced through her mind, the front door was closed and undamaged, this man also showed no signs of panic at her showing up. It was unlikely she was being robbed, though he had an air about him which made her hesitate. Alex would have probably mentioned if someone else was being sent to see her. She took a deep breath, reminding herself she possessed super-strength and a wealth of abilities that meant she was much safer than she was used to. The man continued to watch, unmoving as she sat their deliberating.

“You’re on my property,” she said in a flat tone. Stepping out of the car but keeping the door open, between her and this potential threat.

“You don’t know me,” he said, still leaning. Something about his voice stirred in her mind. His intense watching made it hard to focus on it. Though he was relaxed, his eyes drilled into her. It made his casual demeanour somehow more threatening.

“Damn right I don’t know you, what are you doing here?” she said. A grin curled up on the man’s face and his eyes softened, it did little to ease her quickening heartbeat.

“You can consider me a friend,” he said. She looked at him intently.

“I don’t know who you think you are…” she began. He cut off her off, with an upbeat tone of voice that came out of nowhere.

“You can call me Spark,” he said, standing up straight and giving her a slight nod. She got out her keys and slammed the car door harder than she intended, luckily there was no damage when she checked it with a side glance.

“I’m going to go into my house, if you interfere or you’re still here by the time I’m inside, I’m calling the police,” she said.

“I have no intention of interfering, I’m here to give you a little advice,” he said.

“Well I’m not interested,” she said, more and more convinced this was a weird prank. With renewed vigour she walked to her door. She pushed by and did what she could to ignore him. He did nothing to resist, though as the door clicked open he spoke up again.

“Why pick Arias? Did the idea of a memorable name appeal to you at the time?” She stopped dead in her tracks and slowly turned back to him. “I mean I get why you didn’t stick with Jane Doe, hell of a boring name. I mean I guess they wouldn’t let you keep it anyway.”

Her chest sank, that first chill on her neck immediately sprung back and overtook her whole body. She spoke slowly and clearly, doing what she could to keep her voice from cracking.

“What are you talking about?” she said.

“I think you know exactly what I’m talking about, a lot can be gleaned from someone’s name,” he said.

“Explain yourself,” she said, sounding out both words distinctly. She stared at him, too uncertain to wipe away the water that started to well up in her eyes. The back of her throat began to itch and she swallowed hard. He leaned back again, disinterested in matching her body language.

“I spoke to someone recently, her name was Jo. A real flower that one, got adopted when she was 16. Happily part of the family and even got a sister out of the deal. No real memory of much that happened before that day though. Hazy pictures of a childhood that seemed to just blur by, no real details seemed to have stuck with her. I’m guessing the adoption thing chose her surname for her, a luxury it seems you didn’t get,” he said. It was familiar story. Too familiar. Not even Ruby knew about her early life, or lack of one.

“Who are you, really?” she said.

“Like I said, a friend with some advice,” he said. She did not know whether confront him or to step inside and slam the door behind her. It was uncomfortable to be gripped by this indecision.

“I’m going to go ahead and guess someone from the FBI has been checking up on you. Friendly face, has a particular interest in your wellbeing, maybe a little too eager to work with you,” he stopped for confirmation, she gave him nothing. “You should be weary because they aren’t who they claim to be. This is way above the FBI. Call themselves the Department of Extra-normal Operations or DEO. One thing I can be certain of regardless of what you’ve been told, is they’re far more interested in Reign than they are in Sam.”

“Leave my home, now,” she said, she pushed the words through a dried-up throat. He put his hands out and backed off.

“I’ve said what I came to say, tread carefully when dealing with them.” He walked off with a skip in his step. She watched him turn sharply onto the sidewalk and saunter off like there had been no issue. She blinked several times, wiped her eyes, sniffed loudly and pushed on through. She quickly rummaged through the drawer she kept Alex’s card in. It was disconcerting, her left hand was trembling ever so slightly. The hand that held out the card was firm and steady, it was working as expected but the ever-present detachment from it was more prominent.

She stood still, contact details in hand. Spark had been dead on about her past, it was something she never wanted to dwell on. Her first clear memories were her mid-teens where she had no care for the world, assuming she had been abandoned and meandering from place to place with no real direction. Anything she tried to recall before that was extremely blurry, as if she barely existed. Alone and scared she was reckless in her youth. It was the pregnancy that had her finally seek out the help she needed. The charities she went too changed her life for the better, she was more than happy with what her life then became. Though she knew she was one of the lucky ones, Ruby coming into her life gave her a reason to keep going. She was almost grateful for knowing nothing of life before so had cast it aside, even using the blank slate to forge her own path forward. Her life had been motherhood, education and succeeding in just about every endeavour her careers offered her. Now this Spark person had come out of nowhere and immediately dredged up everything before that. The uncertainty, confusion and emptiness she thought she had set aside for good.

She put Alex’s contact details into her phone as it all flooded back. She stopped herself, not sure what to say. Her hand still trembled and it was hard to think clearly. She took a deep breath, it wavered and she inhaled the salty taste of a running tear. She closed her eyes and attempted to focus, wiping her face dry. The prosthetic was less as absorbent than her skin and did little to help as she dabbed at her face. She took another deep breath and ignored the small pain in her chest. Nothing had ever stopped her before, she was not going to let this encounter phase any more than it already had.

She sat at the bar of her kitchen and thought about what to say. She wanted to avoid too much detail, just mention this man that knew too much about her.

She held her breath as the rings went through. Fortunately, the call was picked up quickly.

“Hi Sam,” There was very little background noise, hearing her voice was soothing.

“Hi,” she said.

“I’m glad you called. To what do I owe the pleasure” Alex said.

She hesitated, breathing a little harder and trying to figure out how to best word the strange encounter.

“Is everything alright?” Alex said, concerned.

“Not exactly,” she said.

“What’s wrong?” Alex said.

“As you know, the past few days have been pretty normal and I’ve been able to get on with things. Today a man was at my house…” the words were not coming to her.

“It’s okay to take your time,” Alex said. She took another deep breath.

“He knew I was Reign,” she said.

“Right… did he give you a name? Can you describe him?” Alex said.

“He called himself Spark, and erm… short hair, quite tall…” it had blindsided her and was already struggling to recall what he looked like in any useful detail.

“I’ll tell you what, I can swing round and pick you up. Then we can go through this together somewhere safe. I’ll also send someone to keep an eye on Ruby,” Alex said. Spark’s warning about being weary played on her mind, but there was no way she was going to trust this man’s word.

“I’d like that, could you keep it discreet, I don’t want to worry her,” she said.

“I’ll see what I can do. Sit tight, I’ll be with you shortly. Call again if you don’t feel safe or if he comes back,” Alex said.

“I will, thank you,” Sam said, the call ended. She carefully placed herself on the sofa, she could feel every muscle in her body tense up and her body refused to let her relax into it. Despite her shaking, the prosthetic was still as steady as a rock. A harsh reminder of how normality was doing everything it could to stay out of her life. She checked the time, there was still plenty of the school day left. She wanted nothing more than to get this straightened out without Ruby’s knowledge. The last thing she wanted was to put her through more trouble.


	26. Trust

Alex had arrived quickly and they were on the road toward the centre of National City. The rumble of the tarmac droned on and the journey had mostly been describing what she could remember about Spark.

“Where are we headed?” Sam asked.

“We have a headquarters in National City, I’ve called ahead and they’re expecting us. I have a suspicion on who this man might be and want to confirm it,” Alex said.

“Am I in danger?” she said.

“If my hunch is right, then I don’t think so. I’m sorry I can’t be more reassuring than that,” Alex said. It did little to ease her worries, at the very least she had stopped shaking.

There was a moment she picked up on where Alex went to scratch at her arm, she stopped herself and let out a small sigh.

She was led through a modern building. There was a lot of security to get through and Alex flashed identification at them each time. One peculiar thing she noticed was the further in she got the less attention they paid to her. The inquisitive looks diminished along the way, even amongst the FBI she was almost put off by the lack of curiosity they displayed about her. After being led through some barren corridors and more checkpoints she was brought into a busy area. There were dozens of screens and work-stations about, glass walls into various other sections with strange technology and lighting. It reminded her more of a NASA control room than any law-enforcement office.

“What is all this?” Sam said.

“We’re well funded in National City,” Alex said, she beckoned her over to one of the workstations. “This is Agent Schott. The man waved at her. His screen had a series of pictures lined up, various men who had similar features to what she had described. “Are you able to identify this man from any of these?”

She looked closely, most of them were mug shots with a few outliers of pictures taken in the street.

“Can I get a closer look?”

“Of course,” the agent said. One picture took up the whole screen, she was able to scroll through them one at a time

She scrolled through the mug-shots first to no avail. The other pictures were slightly blurry or taken from afar. She was worried the man would be hard to recognise, Spark had only spoken to her briefly and her memory of him was already hazy. As these concerns floated around her head, a clear picture hit the screen. There was no mistaking who it was, it was a flattering compared to the rest and he was leaning up against a wall. He looked past the camera and off into the distance with a half-grin. Where he stood in the frame and how he stood, if it was as if he was posing.

“Him. That’s definitely him,” she said. Alex and agent Schott shared a look.

“I’ll run it through facial recognition right away,” Agent Schott said. Alex took her away from the screen and speaking as they walked toward the centre of the room.

“Is there anything more you can think of, anything at all about this man?” Alex said, a slight edge crept in her voice.

“I’ve told you what I can, he called himself Spark and knew more about me than I’d like. Is there something I should know?” She said.

“It’s alright, we think this could be a man whose popped up on our radar very recently. Your confirmation will allow us to move forward. From what we know he isn’t violent or malicious, you and Ruby should be safe even if he’s poking around,” Alex said, seemingly overcompensating a kind tone after her last question. Sam nodded, not liking the use of the world “should.”

“How recent exactly? What do you know about him?” she said.

“Let’s just confirm things first,” Alex said. Avoiding the question was exactly what people did when the truth was inconvenient.

“Agent Danvers,” Agent Schott beckoned to them.

“That was fast,” Sam said.

“Well funded,” Alex said. When she moved to follow Alex, she stopped her. “If you don’t mind waiting here, sorry.”

“Alright,” Sam said. She did not want to be left out of the loop. The place was busy and it wasn’t long before she found she was in the way.

“Excuse me Ma’am” someone said, he manoeuvred carefully as to not spill any of the coffee he was holding. He had not even given her a second look, as she paid more attention to her surroundings it was clear no-one in the room had even the slightest concern a ghost-white woman and a bionic arm was milling about. The more she looked the more it became clear something was off about this place. She tried to get a glance at a few of the screens around her, the agents did a good job of keeping them angled away. Alex certainly knew about her connection to Reign, either everyone else here was ignorant of that fact or more worryingly, this was business as usual for them. Spark’s warnings played on her mind. There were no FBI logos to be seen and the extremely high-tech nature of her surroundings were red flags. It was a strain to tune her hearing over to agent Schott just as Alex approached.

“What have you got?” Alex said.

“A record from the DMV pinged,” he said.

“The DMV, there has been precisely zero info on this guy and now you’re telling me he has a driver’s licence?” she said, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

“Finally a bit of luck I guess,” he said.

“I want a name, address and at least one agent to keep an eye on him at all times,” she said.

“Name: David Orian, Address…” he stopped mid-sentence.

“What’s the hold up?” she asked.

“His listed address is… well…” he was struggling to find words

“Out with it, Winn,” she said.

“It’s our address, as in this building.” Even from afar she could see Alex’s face was quite the mixture of bemusement and confusion.

“How is that… wait.” A moment of realisation hit Alex’s face. “I don’t suppose that licence has a middle initial?”

“Yeah it’s…” Winn began.

“E” Alex finished for him.

“How did you know?” he said.

“Check the initials, he’s mocking us,” she said. Sam put it together in her own head “D.E.O., a lot can be gleaned from a name” she whispered to herself. There was at least some truth to what Spark had said, but she still trusted these people a whole lot more than him. There was no point playing it quiet, she wanted an explanation. She strode over to the two of them.

“Now I think of it, there was another thing Spark mentioned to me,” she said.

“Any information you can give us helps,” Alex said.

“He said that someone like you would come along and that they weren’t really with the FBI,” she said.

“I’m sorry if what he said was distressing. I’ll get you some coffee and we can go straight to recording a full statement. If he brought up anything else we can go over that too,” Alex said. She had been through enough negotiations in her life to know the concern was a ploy. A lack of a denial and rapidly changing the subject felt very similar to the avoided question earlier.

“So, I guess the initials DEO actually mean nothing to you,”

Alex’s face remained soft, but she picked up a slight twitch on Winn’s face. Sam stayed silent, watching Alex’s concerned expression. After a tense few seconds, the façade dropped and Alex’s face turned sour.

“You were listening to us.”

“I’ve got a strange man who you claim to know something about appearing at my door, and a woman who lied to me about working for the FBI,” she said.

“Look, I’m sorry for the deception. We have your best interest at heart, what can I tell you to make you understand that?” Alex said.

“Just give it to me straight,” she said.

“I don’t have clearance to do that,” Alex said.

“I don’t care,” Sam said. Alex held her gaze.

“I can take you to someone that does,” Alex said.

“Lead the way,” she said, wanting this ordeal to be done with. She was brought up some stairs, the D.E.O.’s set up looked even more impressive from above. The busy agents below all rushing about or working away. Alex knocked on a door, there was a plaque beside it that read “Director.” There was no name beside it, which made it far less inviting. She wandered to herself if she had made the right decision in revealing her hand.

“Come in,” the words came form inside the office. The door swung open to reveal a dark-skinned man with very short hair.

“You must be Sam Arias,” he said, extending his hand. She shook it carefully, paying close attention to how much pressure she used with her prosthetic. “J’onn J’onzz,wWhat Can I do for you?”

“She knows we aren’t FBI. She wants the truth,” Alex said. J’onn let out a long sigh, it was the type of sigh she had heard before. One that suggested this was another issue piled on top of a whole host of other ones for him.

“I have no context here and quite frankly don’t have the time to learn it. You think this is the best way to approach this, Agent Danvers?” He asked, folding his arms.

“I do, sir,” she said. His eyes flitted between two of them.

“I’ll trust your judgement. I’ll also trust you to look out for Ms. Arias in an appropriate manner.” He said.

“I understand, sir,” she said. J’onnz’ hands moved to on his hips.

“Apologies for the deception, it’s standard procedure and we wanted to ease you into our set-up,” he said.

“Why approach me at all?” she said.

“It wasn’t a lie when Agent Danvers here was checking in on you, Superman has kept us informed of your wellbeing and I wanted to make sure you were settling in okay,” he said.

“And recruit me, apparently,” she said.

“Also true, the fact of the matter is we’ve been on back foot recently and lost one of our best people. Having you with us could help a lot with our primary goal, one that’s taking up most available time and resources,” he said.

“What goal, and how am I supposed to help,” she said.

“There’s no way to sugar coat this, so I’ll be blunt. You were a World Killer, we have reason to believe there are more out there,” he said.

“More…” she slumped, of course it was not over.

“Our intel is that there are four World Killers. We have it on good authority that you’re safe. Which leaves three unknowns, we’ve had the occasional word or rumour reach us. It hasn’t been much to go on and I’m hoping you would be able to focus our search,” he looked to her expectantly.

“I’m afraid I didn’t really know anything before I… changed. And have very little memory of when Reign was in control,” she said.

“Not to worry, Agent Danvers can follow up and ask any further questions we may have. There’s also a much more recent issue that has come to our attention. We’ve caught wind of a cult in National City, one that’s obsessed with Krypton and have a particular interest in the World Killers. As I said, I wanted to ease you into this but here we are. As far as they know, Reign simply disappeared. You’re in a far better position to approach them directly and gather information then us, you could even dismantle it if they’re willing to do what you say,” he said. Sam found the seat behind her and slumped into it, not even a week and she was back in the fray.

“I’m sorry if this is a lot. We will of course respect your wishes if you want nothing to do with this. That said, we could really use your help,” he said.

“I want to go home,” she said.

“I understand. Agent Danvers, see that she’s looked after. And please, consider our offer. It’d make a huge difference to our efforts here,” he said. She did not respond, it played on her mind that there were more out there like her, going about their lives unaware of the danger they presented it. It was a lot to take in. Alex put her arm around her.

“Come on, I’ll take you home,” she said.


	27. Traffic

The car’s radio was droning the latest news at them, she was not taking any of it in. She rested her head against the window and watched the slow traffic. She was trying to organise her thoughts and could only think to herself how much less complicated ignorance was. It was easy to be envious of the pedestrians that walked by her window with their trivial concerns. It also dawned on her than any one of them could be a World Killer waiting to awaken, a fate she would not wish on her worst enemy. She looked back to the dashboard, it was late morning. She relaxed a little knowing she could at least pick up Ruby later, she longed to hear about her day and chat about her friends or whatever else was occupying her mind.

The car came to a stop once more as another red light glowed at them from the distance. Alex reached out and clicked off the monotone background voice.

“I’m sorry about all this,” Alex said. Sam turned to her, Alex seemed genuinely concerned.

“Don’t apologise, it’s a lot to think about is all,” she said.

“No, I rushed you into this. That was my mistake,” Alex said.

“Maybe,” Sam looked back out the window. “Knowing is certainly harder, but I guess it’s better than being blind-sided further down the line.”

“I shouldn’t have taken you to the DEO so soon, I’m… heavily invested in this World Killer business. I let you pay for it, I should do better for you,” Alex said. Sam cocked her head, this woman was being very open for a secret agent.

“I can handle it, lord knows I’ve had my mettle tested recently. My main concern is my daughter, she’s done nothing to deserve all this,” she said, gesturing to herself and waggling her artificial fingers. Alex glanced down at her own arms, before moving off the car again.

“Is she bothered by it at all?” Alex asked.

“Honestly, I don’t know. At the moment I think she’s grateful to have me around again, I do fear my hugs feel a bit weird or when things settle she’ll worry about it more,” she said. Alex exhaled through her nose sharply, still largely paying attention to the road.

“I guess another reason I wanted you around was the arm, it can be hard. More selfish reasoning I know,” Alex said. Sam looked forward to the road, a car horn blared out. It did not make the queue go any faster.

“Why me? I mean you told me you knew about support groups and no-one at your work seems to be concerned,” she said.

“I did, but these arms are so effective…” Alex briefly glanced over at her, “I guess it feels like I’ve cheated. A lot of people who are going through similar injuries will never get anything as advanced,” Alex said. Sam inspected her own arm, listening close to the mechanical wooshes it made when she twisted it round.

“I guess I hadn’t really thought about it that way, I still barely believe how I ended up like this and I was there for it all. I guess my head is so wrapped up in aliens and powers that I forgot about normal life. May I ask how it happened to you?” she said. Alex hesitated and rubbed her chin.

“I’m a field agent, front line for some of the weirdest and most dangerous things the city can offer. One day I was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Alex said. Sam nodded, she took it as a roundabout of way of telling her it was classified. “My girlfriend has been so supportive about it all, reassuring me whenever she can and helping me if I need. I just can’t help but wonder if it burdens her or forces her to keep at a certain distance.”

“I suppose I’m fortunate that Ruby’s still at an age that’s easy to read,” she said. Alex laughed.

“I have extensive training in interrogation and investigation, yet my girlfriend’s poker face still leaves me totally stumped,” Alex smiled, Sam smiled as well. Alex’ concerns were like her own, it was impossible for her to hold a grudge against someone who needed help just like she had.

“Look, I can’t say I’m overly grateful for the position I’m in, but it’s not your fault. If it’s forgiveness you’re after, you have it. At this point I just want to do what’s best for Ruby,” she said.

“Thank you, and while it may sound like another recruitment pitch. This World Killer cult could be seriously dangerous, they’d obviously have a direct interest in you. I won’t tell you it wouldn’t threaten your personal safety confronting them, but the longer they’re around the more of a threat they could be,” Alex said.

“How much do you know about them? Please tell me they don’t know about Ruby,” Sam said.

“Our intel is pretty lacking I’m afraid, new info has come in recently but there’s still a lot we don’t know.” The car came to a stop again, there was a long line in front of them and nothing was coming from the other side of the road. It looked like they were going to be sitting there for a while. Alex turned to her “If they knew about you or Ruby they probably would have made a move by now, all we do know for certain is vague associations and names of the other World Killers. We’ve kept an eye on peculiar activity that could relate to it all and have some theories along with possible locations. Nothing around National City you’ll be pleased to hear,” Alex said.

“What are the other names?” she said, she hoped they would be unfamiliar

“Flower of Heaven, Perrilus and Deimax” Alex said. Sam let out a small sigh of relief when she failed to recognise them, for now it was all she wanted to know.

“I have to say, you’re much calmer than most people would be in your circumstances,” Alex said. Sam laughed.

“I didn’t know what truly constituted a crisis until Ruby came into my life, as good as she is, parenthood can be seriously testing.”

“Ha, I’ll take your word for it,” Alex said. She started to drum on the dashboard. “Traffic hasn’t been this bad in a long time, I don’t suppose you could look up ahead to see what the stop is?”

“May as well use the perks I guess,” Sam said as she focused far forward. “Looks like there’s a truck blocking the road.”

“I really wish people drove more carefully,” Alex said. Sam inspected the scene further.

“It’s odd, there doesn’t seem to be any damage. The truck’s empty,” she said. Alex’s hands immediately dropped off the steering wheel, one dropping to her holster.

The thunk of the car unlocking sounded off, “Can you take a look around? Something’s off.” Sam obliged. The scene up ahead seemed uneventful, a few others had left their cars and were inspecting this conspicuous truck. There was a man talking to a police officer. She honed her hearing past the beeping of car horns and idle chatter.

“I don’t know, it just turned to cover the road and the driver ran off.”

“The block was definitely intentional” she said to Alex. Her hand went from hovering around her holster to arming herself. An aggressive revving from behind caught Sam’s attention, she immediately turned to it. A black van turned out from the line behind them and was rocketing up the empty side of the road.

“Errr… Alex?” Sam said, pointing up the road. The van was some ways off, she tried to look inside but her vision was somehow blocked.

“Get behind the car,” Alex said. She was hesitant to move, her legs took a little too much time to respond. She had been to slow, the van screeched to a halt in front of her. She could smell the burnt rubber from the hard stop. The numbness in her legs wore off as the Van’s back doors were hurled open and armed men wearing balaclavas jumped out as.

“Grab them” she heard one say. Each one of them clicked something on their guns and a green tint glowed at the sides. Time slowed down for her as they opened fire and she saw bullets rip through the air with that same green tint flying toward her. She heard screaming and saw people scramble out of their cars. All she could think to do was crouch and try to cover her face. She gritted her teeth as a new sharp pain hit her as each bullet smacked against her, it was like being pelted by rocks. After a few seconds of this the menacing roar of the gunfire finally came to a stop. She stood up, looking down in disbelief at all the squashed metal surrounding her. They had been crushed just by hitting her.

“That should be enough, throw her in the van, You two, go around and grab Danvers.”

She painfully stood up and saw a few of the masked men put the guns to their side and went to grab her. As one grabbed her, she carelessly shoved at him with all her strength. He got thrown back and hit the side of the van hard. More tried to move in, so she carelessly swung at them, trying to keep them back. As the man she had shoved groaned loudly they started to back off.

“It didn’t work, she’s still too strong.”

“Plan B. Keep her supressed and we’ll just grab Danvers.”

Upon hearing this, she closed her eyes and braced herself again. She moved her artificial arm to try to block her face and body. Another roar of gunfire was concentrated on her. A lot of that same pelting pain came at her, one of the bullets made her knee buckle and it jolted her downward. There was no pain in it and the arm was doing a decent job of protecting her from the pain. More bullets drove into it, merciless volleys of gunfire roared at her and it was becoming clear that the arm lacked the same sturdiness the rest of her body did. The arm began to take chips and scratches as the bullets panged off it. While this happened, she could see more men going around the car. Alex was being defiant.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she said. She strained to listen in over the gunfire, the headache barely registered as the rest of her body took the consistent beating.

“Unless you want us to start shooting civilians, you will,” was the response she got. There was a brief pause in conversation. It was difficult to make out what was happening as the onslaught of gunfire continued. She was sure she heard a gun drop to the ground, when she opened her eyes she saw Alex with her hands up walking around them with a wide both.

“No,” Sam said, struggling to a standing position as bullets continued to try and batter her down. There was no let up in the firing line, she clocked that they were reloading at different intervals to maintain the constant barrage. Shell casings rained own and pinged off the tarmac. She doubted waiting would make any difference, so she struggled forward. Step by agonising step, she inched closer to her attackers through the unrelenting waves of bullets. Her arm started shifting involuntarily and her fingers flexed back and forth seemingly at random. As it shifted away from her face bullets started to pelt where she tried to cover. A bullet to the eye jolted head back and it began to water. She was forced to turn her head down and could not see where she was stepping.

“I won’t let you take her,” she said, flinging her arm aside and stamping the ground. There was a thunderous crash, the gunfire stopped, glass shattered all around her. A tremendous force blasted into her, she dug in her heels. She slid back several feet, it crunched grooves in the concrete and she crashed into the car behind with a hard thud. She felt slightly dizzy and the vision in her good eye was taking a moment to come into focus. She was embedded into the car’s side, she needed a lot of force to pull herself out and lurched forward when she finally got herself unstuck. The ache in her back was palpable, debris and shattered glass rolled off her. It was unclear what she had done but the armed men in front of her had been flung from their positions.

It did not take her long to notice something was not right. The crack in the tarmac where she had stamped barely reached the firing line and the floored men that had not been catapulted behind her were scrambling toward her rather than away. As she slowly craned her aching neck upward, she saw what was left of the van. It had crumpled from the from the top, splitting it in half. Standing at this point of impact was a shining red blur. She strained her eye to focus on it. She could see the distinctive black and red uniform, the “S” symbol amongst that threatening circle glowing out just as brightly as her ring’s aura. There was pure fury in her eyes directed straight at her. One of the men dangled limp in Supergirl’s hand. She had to assume it was the driver, as the crumpled front half of the van lay empty.

“Supergirl, don’t…” Sam snapped back round to the voice, it was a man standing next to Alex with a gun pointing at her. That was as many words as he got out before the driver’s unconscious body rag-dolled into him, knocking the gun out of his hand and sending him clattering into the street. Now empty-handed, Supergirl stepped off the van and squared up to her, that stare of hers never breaking.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Supergirl said, a growl creeping into her voice. Before Sam could respond a blue-skinned woman in a similar uniform with wings of bone fluttered down beside her.

“Oh my dear, she really doesn’t like you,” the winged woman said.


	28. Conflict

“Bleez, round these people up,” Supergirl said, not breaking eye contact with Sam. She was still recovering from Supergirl’s violent entrance, worried about moving while under the sinister glare.

“Get what information you can from them, no unnecessary violence,” Supergirl said.

“I think I should say the same thing to you,” Bleez smirked as she spoke, Supergirl shot her look. It was a pleasant respite from the drilling eyes. Staying upright was already difficult after the beating she had taken from the gunfire, what made it worse was her prosthetic was working with a mind of its own. It uncontrollably twitched while her fingers refused to stay still, clenching and unclenching into a fist with no real rhyme or rhythm. Her eye was still watering and there were pains all over her body, she winced as she brushed the rubble off herself. She inhaled sharply at each pat, there was no part of her body that was not aching. Her haywire arm occasionally whipped back into her to aggravate the bruising even more. Supergirl had stopped bickering with Bleez and turned her attention back Sam’s way. A strong red glow emitted from her, she squared her shoulders and stepped right up to her. There was an intense heat coming from it as Supergirl got too close for comfort.

“I don’t suppose you could cut this off again?” Sam said, she stuttered as she spoke and gestured to her flailing arm. Levity was all she could think to do. Her first memory after Reign left her mind was looking up at the red Supergirl. She had tried to keep up with Supergirl’s movements when she was recovering at the fortress. Despite the narrative painting her as far more merciless and violent, she bore no grudge against her. Reign deserved what she got and whatever Supergirl had done expelled her from her mind. It was of little comfort though, there was no telling if Supergirl would lash out at her again.

“I said, what are you doing here?” Supergirl said, baring her teeth at her and pulling her even closer. Being pulled forward aggravated her already beaten body, the heat from Supergirl’s hands started to singe her shirt. Despite Supergirl being slightly shorter, it felt like she was being dwarfed by her. The heat from the aura and heavy breaths burned against her skin, she could hear faint growling with every breath. She awkwardly craned her neck backward to get as much distance as possible without testing the iron grip that had pulled her in. She held her breath, the aching aggravated every motion she made. The scowling powerhouse who had taken hold of her was glaring right into her eyes.

“We were attacked, by whoever these people are,” she said. Supergirl let her go, Sam stepped back and let the rush of she had held air escape her lungs, only after being let go did she notice how tense her body had been. She wanted to stretch out but feared for the bruising’s reaction.

“Bleez, who are they?” Supergirl said.

“Still working on it, darling,” Bleez said. Supergirl stared her down for a while longer, the strength of the red glow dimmed slightly as she backed off. She bent down and inspected what was left of the bullets that were littered around her.

“Kryptonite infused…” She looked back at her. “Where’s agent Danvers?”

“They were trying to take her…” she said. Alex jogged over.

“I’m here, I’m here. Just calling in back-up and trying to keep the public away,” Alex said. Sam wilted back slightly, no grudge or not she wanted nothing more than to keep her distance from Supergirl. She grabbed her artificial arm by the wrist to try and steady it, more than happy to let Alex do the talking.

“Why is Reign with you?” Supergirl said.

“Ms. Arias was with me regarding D.E.O. matters, Supergirl. I was driving her home,” Alex said. There was an odd amount of animosity from someone whose life was just saved. Supergirl flared her nostrils and exhaled sharply. One of the attackers cried out as he was thrown at their feet.

“This one tells me he’s feeling co-operative,” Bleez said, stretching out her boned wings to their full span as she yawned. Alex eyed this new arrival with suspicion, before her attention was drawn to the man on the floor. Sam inspected him closer, X-ray vision revealed he had a broken arm and leg.

“We can interrogate him back at headquarters, now isn’t the time or the place,” Alex said.

“He talks now, or he doesn’t talk at all,” Supergirl said. No matter what she was doing, Supergirl’s focus kept coming back to Sam. She was still doing her best to keep her arm under control, though each piercing glare thrown her way seemed to hit harder than the bullets.

“This is the D.E.O.’s jurisdiction. Thank you for your help, we’ll take it from here,” Alex said. Sam was taken aback at how firm Alex had been. She was still struggling to even look at Supergirl standing this close, it was difficult not to shy away from her intensity. Supergirl rolled her eyes and picked up the man by the neck.

“Who do you work for?” Supergirl said, Alex watched on with her own intense look as the man tried to splutter out words. “You know, I’ve never tested just exactly how hard I have to squeeze to break a neck in half.”

“CADMUS, we’re with CADMUS,” he blurted out through coughs.

“Supergirl, I can’t let you…” Alex started.

“He’s talking, don’t you have a crowd to control?” She said, looking over as a few of the public started to edge toward them. Alex huffed.

“If you hurt him at all, this will not end well for any of us,” Alex said.

“Unless our friend here gives her a reason, I’d say we’re fine my dear, Supergirl really is quite the soft touch,” Bleez chimed in. She was merrily weaving between the other attackers, the conscious ones were on their knees. Alex met Supergirl’s gaze for a moment, before backing off and doing what she could to disperse the public. Supergirl’s eyes once again flitted toward Sam before she went back to her victim. Even though he had spent the last few minutes shooting her, she could not help but feel bad for the man.

“Awfully bold to attack people out in the street,” Supergirl said.

“It was supposed to be a quick grab, we were told to watch the D.E.O. HQ and take targets of interest if we had the chance,” he said, rasping as he spoke on the verge of tears.

“You’ve always had the information and resources to do something like this. Why so reckless and why now?” She said, her voice leaned more into that growl as she spoke. She could see her grip start to tighten, the man could barely speak and his legs starting to spasm. As his face began to turn an alarming shade of purple it became too hard to watch.

“You’re killing him,” she said. Supergirl turned slowly to her, her eye was twitching as she glared directly at her once more. Sam took a step back and looked down, almost regretting speaking up. There was a thump as the man clattered to the ground, he twisted awkwardly and looked up at Sam.

“Thank you,” he wheezed at her. Supergirl crouched beside him.

“Answer me,” she said.

“We know the D.E.O. is stretched thin, we’ve been raiding their supplies, we were told now’s the best time to try and capture some of their people. That’s all I know, I swear,” he said, the desperation had not left his tone and he was doing his best to crawl back away from her. Supergirl advanced with his whimpering retreat.

“Nothing to do with her,” Supergirl said, pointing at Sam. “Nothing about World Killers?”

“We knew about Reign, I don’t know what else you mean, please don’t hurt me,” the man groaned.

“Useless,” Supergirl said through gritted teeth. They both turned as sirens started to blare out in the distance. “More D.E.O.. Bleez, we’re leaving,” Supergirl said as she started to hover.

“You shoot over here without warning and now demand we leave just as things are getting fun? You’re such a tease,” Bleez said, she drifted lazily toward her.

“We have more to discuss and we aren’t doing it here,” Supergirl said, she shot upward. The force of the take-off brushed against her aching skin and forced Alex to steady herself. Bleez watched Supergirl arc upward. Before she set off Bleez looked right at Sam.

“You, my dear, are lucky she has so much self-control,” Bleez said.

“You call that self-control?” Sam said, looking down at the whimpering victim. Bleez laughed out loud.

“She was harbouring so much rage I’m surprised everyone lived to tell this tale. As I said, soft touch,” Bleez said. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and she felt a chill down her spine. It distracted her enough that she loosened the grip on her arm, it’s new bout of twitching brought her back down to earth. She shook off the chill and forced herself back into the present, the flailing arm happily reminded her how odd that present was. Steering into the skid had always been a strength of hers, she reasoned there was no use stopping now.

“Need a hand?” Bleez said with a sultry smile. Sam pushed past the joke and let go of her arm.

“Would you?” She said, Bleez seemed taken aback by the candid response. She put her ring near the top of the twitching arm, there was a small jolt of red and her arm finally came to a halt.

“Thanks,” she said, grateful that it was just hanging limp and not doing its best to keep hitting her.

“It’s been a pleasure,” she said before gently drifting away, rotating slowly upward and letting her wings flap out before shooting off in a similar manner to her counterpart. As cars arrived at the scene and D.E.O. agents started to file out of them, Alex made her way over and started issuing orders. Sam stood there awkwardly as the scene was brought under control and the attackers were rounded up. Now she had some time to get a proper look at it she could see just how bad a state her arm was in. She prodded at it to see if there was any life in it whatsoever. The upper section was barely still attached, only a few miserable looking joints doing their best to hold it together. There was also nearly nothing left of the casing on her forearm, wires poked out in random directions and the smell of fried, exposed circuitry tickled her nose. The poor thing looked to be as far from a working state as she could imagine. The pain from hail of bullets was starting to dull, though it still ached when she moved too quickly. Once things were starting to calm down and the agents were starting to settle with their orders, Alex came back.

“I imagine that was quite the ordeal, are you okay?” Alex asked.

“I’ll live,” Sam said, before doing her best to relay the information Supergirl had gotten from her interrogation.

“Thanks for telling me, if I’d known CADMUS would be so aggressive so fast I certainly would have left you alone,” Alex said.

“He said we’re targets of interest. Does that put Ruby in danger?” She said.

“CADMUS may be bold, but they aren’t stupid. They lost a lot of men today, men that can tell us what they know. We’ll keep a close eye and I’ll keep you informed if we think there’s any more threat from them,” Alex said.

“I have to ask, what was up with Supergirl. That friend of hers said I’m lucky to be alive,” she said. Alex let out a long sigh.

“There’s not a whole lot I can tell you, it’s tied to the remaining World Killers. You probably gathered she doesn’t work with us. It makes things complicated, it’s also another reason we’re spread so thin. Losing her… it’s put a lot of strain on an already strained department. Worst of all there isn’t a lot we can do about CADMUS except defend ourselves,” Alex said. Sam thought of Ruby and the entire mess she had been unwillingly pulled into.

“If I help you with this World Killer business, can I then be done with all of this nonsense and go back to life with my daughter,” Sam said.

“I wish I could tell you that you could walk away from all this, that we could protect you and Ruby, but I can’t,” Alex sighed. “I don’t want to force you into anything or think we’re extorting you and we will do everything we can to keep you safe if you want nothing to do with us. That said, I can’t guarantee there won’t be more violence or targeting.” Sam took in a deep breath and looked at all the destruction around her, it was horrible to take in. Since her teens she promised to herself she would control her own fate, and if she could survive this then it felt worth the risk.

“I think it’d be better to face the problem head on than wait on the side-lines and hope for the best. I’ll have to check with Ruby first, she has to know I’ll be in harm’s way and has to be given the chance to tell me not to,” she said. Alex looked conflicted.

“Contact me when you’ve made a decision, the sooner we start, the sooner we can end this,” Alex said, she looked like she wanted to say more but refrained.

“I can arrange medical attention for you,” Alex said.

“No it’s alright, I’ll make my own way from here,” she said.

“Are you sure, you took a hell of a beating?” Alex said.

“I’ve had worse. I’d rather get out of here,” she said, she eyed the crushed van and crumpled bullets.

“Thank you, for what you’ve done today,” Alex said. If she was not so heavily distracted by having to keep the scene in order she probably would have said more to her.

“Same to you,” Sam said before moving off. She had no real idea of what she was doing, every way of moving forward seemed like a bad one. She took a breath and thought to herself to think one step at a time. It was still early in the day. Her arm dangled carelessly beside her. The best course of action appeared to be a trip to see Lena, driving Ruby to and from School would be tricky with one working arm.

Lena gladly dropped what she was doing to help her and before long she found herself in a lab again. Lena had let her borrow a set of clothes that hadn’t been shredded by bullets. It was oddly comfortable to be in business wear again. Lena merrily rolled between workbenches to use various tools and checking readouts. She pulled on thick work-gloves and knocked down what looked like a welding mask over her face. She meddled with the arm further, a tool she didn’t recognise was sparking brightly each time it touched the arm. The occasional mild twitch in the arm was all she managed as Lena poked different sections.

“The news report mentioned a lot of gunfire, but did you have to take every single bullet to the arm?” Lena’s voice was slightly muffled behind the mask.

“I’ll ask them to aim elsewhere next time,” Sam said, Lena was always more at ease with lab equipment to play with. She rolled back on her chair, the wheels making a satisfying whoosh along the hard floor. She lifted the mask to reveal a smiling face. She pivoted on the chair and reached for a small tablet to tap away on.

“The good news is, physically you’re fine. There’ll be a fair amount of bruising from the more concentrated fire, thankfully you’re already healing fast and it seems you rank high on the bullet-proof side of things. The bad news is, the arm is done for. The circuitry is totally fried and I’m getting some odd energy readings from it, nothing bullets would be able to manage. You said there was Kryptonite involved, were there any other elements to the rounds?” Lena said.

“The bullets, no. The arm was out of control so Supergirl’s sidekick jolted it with that ring of hers." Lena looked confused.

“Sidekick?” Lena said.

“She called her Bleez, had a similar symbol, without the “S” and wore the same red and black colour scheme,” she said. Lena pouted.

“Right… well anyway, I’m afraid the best way forward is to remove the arm and construct a new one,” Lena stood up and started arranging the tools back to their rightful places. “It’ll likely take a few days to sort things out and wrangle the materials under the radar.

“Are you sure that’s okay, I don’t want to cause trouble,” she said.

“Well, I’m using my own money and I’m free to use any L-Corp equipment as I see fit. So I’d say there’s no trouble,” Lena said.

“I didn’t mean it like that, I meant your time and effort. You provided me with top of the line equipment and I bring it back wrecked a few days later,” she said, Lena smiled.

“Trust me, doing this is far more worth my time than L-Corp business at the moment. And while I’m always happy to help, I would quite like to know what you were doing with agent Danvers. Her line of work is pretty dangerous,” Lena said.

“A day after I got back she said she was with the FBI and they were checking on me, she also told me they could use my expertise,” she said, Lena stroke her chin.

“Of course they did, I thought you wanted some time,” Lena said.

“I must admit I underestimated how accepting everyone would be. Got myself a lot more worked up than I needed to. Despite that I still left it be, I wanted to make sure I was properly settled, you know?” she said.

“Makes sense. What changed?” Lena said.

“A strange man appeared at my house. Told me Alex was lying to me and actually works for a department called the D.E.O.. He also knew I was Reign. I was worried so I called Alex, she told me to come in and identify him. When I got there it became clear this man was telling me the truth. Next thing I know there are three other World Killers to worry about and to make things worse, even the journey home becomes a lot more eventful than I’d like,” she said.

“The D.E.O. do good work, they helped me a lot with keeping things quiet with you and Ruby. Though they can be… clumsy, at times. For instance, I am not amused at how quickly they’ve swooped in for you,” Lena said, she thought for a moment longer. “A very select few people know about you, tell me about this man.”

“He told me to call him Spark…” she began, a hint of recognition appeared on Lena’s face, she sighed heavily.

“Let me guess. Hoodie, acts like knowing everything is not big deal, oddly chipper at the worst possible moment?” Lena said.

“You know him?” She asked.

“He’s a… an associate of mine. A fan of memorable names. Not sure what he’s playing at surprising you like that though,” Lena said.

“Should I be worried?” she said, Lena seemed distracted.

“Hmm? Oh, no. He’s a good man at heart… I think… and certainly doesn’t mean you any harm. If he does anything like that or you see him again, you’re better off calling me than the D.E.O.,” Lena said.

“The D.E.O. did seem to be on to him, should I cover for him like that?” She said. Lena’s apparent distrust of the D.E.O. was unsettling, there was likely more to the story. However, Lena had more than proven in the past couple of months that she was looking out for her, the D.E.O. had lied to her from day one.

“Trust me, if the D.E.O. found anything on him it was because he let them,” Lena said.

“Now you mention it, all they had on him was a false driver’s licence with the initials D.E.O.. It was registered to the Headquarters’ address,” Lena chuckled.

“I have to hand it to him, that’s a good one,” Lena sat back down and rolled back over to one of work benches, she took the welding mask off. She shifted through the various tools sitting on the work bench, they lightly tapped against each other as she eventually found some safety glasses to put on. “I’m not going to tell you how to move forward, it’s your life. Just be careful when dealing with the D.E.O., they have to worry about the big picture so their methods can cause a lot of collateral damage. And as you’ve discovered yourself, associating with them potentially puts you in the crosshairs of a lot of other people. Not to mention the other three World Killers being potential wildcards.” As she spoke, she got out a threatening looking tool with a narrow drill-bit attached. Sam eyed it up and down wearily.

“What’s that for?” she said.

“Don’t worry, it won’t hurt,” Lena said, lining it up with a small gap at the top of the arm joint. There was an odd needling sensation as Lena pushed it in. It tingled as it whirred to life, pulling at the joint slightly. “Hold on, only seven more times,” Lena moved her arm for the next slot and repeated this process, holding occasionally holding on to her shoulder to steady herself. The grip felt like nothing, especially compared to Supergirl holding on to her and staring her down. She shuddered slightly.

“Hold still, please,” Lena said, now concentrated entirely on her work.

She had time to think as the pressure on her arm started to loosen and promptly realised she had no idea where to go from here. Alex seemed so sincere in her request, yet Lena seemed to think Spark was more reliable. Most of her wanted to give up on it all and just think about picking Ruby up from school. With this thought she noticed she would be leaving Lena one arm down. She waited for Lena to finish up detaching the sorry-looking arm before speaking up.

“I don’t suppose you have a temporary replacement so I can pick Ruby up?” she asked. Lena looked around the lab, spinning in her chair to look at the different sections. It seemed like she was genuinely curious if she could whip something up with the random parts at her disposal.

“I doubt I could throw together something that would 100% work, probably easier just to ask my driver,” Lena said, the lifeless arm flopped miserably in her hand

“It’s fine, I was joking. I can just arrange a cab or something,” she said.

“Ah. Right. Well the offer’s there,” Lena said.

“You’ve already done more than enough for me,” she said.

“If you’re sure,” she stood up again. “Despite the circumstances, I’m glad you could stop by. I’ll contact you when the replacement is ready to go,” she said. Sam wanted to give Lena a hug, but Lena would usually flinch when she tried. In the moment she took to think, Lena held her arms out. She was surprised by the offer and could sense the minor discomfort Lena felt. Despite this she leaned in and gave her a quick hug.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Stay safe. And remember, if you see Spark again, come to me first,” Lena said. She pulled away, putting the arm aside and started clearing up the cluttered lab equipment.


	29. Hero

Thankfully the cab driver had little interest in asking questions. His initial hesitation had been painted all over his face. The fact she was a quiet, paying customer probably worked wonders in getting him to stop caring. Ruby looked curious when she emerged from the school, she quickly shot down Ruby’s inevitable questioning of why she had one arm again. Her inability to sit still was worse than usual, eventually she had to reassure her that she would tell her when they got home.

Opening the front door was awkward, she had gotten defter with her left hand during her time at the fortress. But even the short amount of time with the artificial arm had her in right-handed thinking again. With a little extra effort, she managed to deal with the keys and enter her home. Ruby rushed beneath her, tossing her bag to the side and perching on the sofa.

“What’s happened? Where’s your arm? Why did you change?” Ruby’s questions came at her fast. Sam took a deep breath as she looked at her inquisitive daughter. She had no idea how to broach the subject, the option to ease into the topic had vanished immediately. She consistently tried and failed to piece together the words, she had to tell her that she was potentially in danger. The worst thing was that that was the easier part, how she would explain being shot several hundred times was totally lost on her.

“Are you okay?” Ruby said, she sensed her hesitation.

“I’m …Er,” Sam said. Sam huffed, she had handled everything up to now. After another deep breath she simply spoke, no over-thinking. “Ruby, this… thing... I’ve become. It’s dangerous.”

“Thing? You’re just you,” Ruby said, she looked taken aback. She half-smiled from Ruby’s acceptance of her.

“That’s not what I… I represent something that dangerous people are interested in. People came after me today, others may in future,” she said.

“What happened?” Ruby asked. She hesitated, unsure how specific to be. Ruby had already been through a lot, but she wanted her to understand the gravity of the situation.

“Armed men tried to abduct me. They failed, this time. But they may come for me again, or go after you to get to me…” she trailed off. Ruby’s excitable bouncing was not exactly the response she had expected.

“You’re here though? You fought them off, like Superman?” She said.

“Erm, not exactly. Look…” she said, words were escaping her again.

“Are you bulletproof?” Ruby cut her off.

“Well yes, but that’s not the point,” she said.

Ruby had already jumped to her feet in excitement. After everything it had been easy to forget Ruby was still so young. She should have known the potential threat would get lost behind the powers and the perceived excitement.

“Ruby, this is serious. There are people that will come after us. The government want my help to stop them. I’ve been told the best thing to do is meet the threat head on. While I was inclined to agree, it could be extremely dangerous,” she said

“Oh my God, My Mum’s going to be a Superhero,” Ruby said. Sam rubbed her forehead, Ruby was ignoring the point she was trying to make.

“Ruby. Please take this seriously, if I get hurt... Well I don’t want to do that to you,” she said.

“You won’t leave me again, I know you wouldn’t let it happen. Besides, Superman always wins and that’s basically who you are now,” Ruby said. Her certainty failed to reassure her, it was at least clear she had Ruby’s blessing. The large smile on her face was infectious. It made it hard to decide whether to keep pushing. She wanted Ruby to understand, but she had been through so much already. Telling her to be scared felt wrong somehow. She slumped back.

“Are you going to do it, are you going to fight the bad guys?” Ruby said. Her excitement was still present despite approaching her more tentatively. There was nothing she would not do to protect her. Even after everything that had happened, she was still so bright and positive. Sam took a hold of her hand and reluctantly nodded. Ruby jumped again and squealed with excitement.

“You’re going to be famous, there’s going to be posters of you and everything,” Ruby said. Sam’s cheeks puffed out as she let out another heavy sigh.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, I’m doing what I must to protect us, nothing more,” she said. It fell on deaf ears. Ruby was already carried away with the Superhero ideas she had gotten into her head.

“Just make sure you don’t tell any of your friends,” Sam said.

“I know, got to protect your secret identity after all,” Ruby said with a giggle.

After a few minutes of humouring Ruby’s excitement, she let her get on with her day. It looked like it would take a while for her to calm down which at this point she was resigned to. She picked up her phone and scrolled down the contacts to Alex Danvers’ name. Her thumb hovered for a moment, before she pressed call decisively. It only rang once before it was picked up.

“I have to admit, I thought this call wouldn’t be so soon,” Alex said. She looked upstairs, Ruby was up in her room, no doubt still in the thrall of this Superhero business.

“I’ll help you,” she said.

“And Ruby’s okay with it?” Alex asked.

“She’s excited, too excited. She thinks I’m going to be the next Superman,” she said.

“Well, better than being scared I suppose,” Alex said. Sam sank into her sofa again, doubts crept into her mind.

“Your partner, does she get scared?” She asked. Alex paused.

“Well, she’s a cop, she knows the dangers of my job, I know the dangers of hers. We trust each other. Though I must admit, I can’t offer you a parent’s perspective,” Alex said. Trust in her was something Ruby seemed to have an endless supply of, it was something she never wanted to lose.

“Look, I at least want to wait until I have two arms again, after that I want to get this done as fast as possible. Tell me what I need to do to help the D.E.O.” She said

“Are you one hundred percent sure about this?” Alex said

She thought back to some of her earliest clear memories, as a teenager promising to herself that she would dictate her own fate. She brought herself to the present and thought of Ruby’s enthusiasm. She stood tall and squared her shoulders.

“I’m sure,” she said.

“Okay. We know where this cult is meeting in a few days, it should be enough time for you to recover and get a new arm in place. I’ll prepare a brief for you and set things up. In the meantime, we’ll do what we can to keep attention off of you. I suggest you do what you can to limit contact with anyone. We’ll keep a constant watch on your home and Ruby as well. I’ll call you when we’re prepared.” Alex said.

“Thank you,” she said.

“You’re doing the right thing,” Alex said. The call ended. The phone thunked down.

“Mum, I’m hungry, what’s for dinner?” echoed down the stairway. Sam looked to the fridge, food had slipped her mind again. There was an itch where her right arm would be, only having the left hand would make any attempt at cooking a messy affair. She had prepared for this occasion, the cold air blasted at her when she opened the freezer. A frozen pizza would have to do. It was hardly nutritious, but until she got her arm back it felt like the best option. A few days of less than stellar meals would have to suffice. She caught herself as she ripped open the packaging, suddenly her biggest concern was her daughter’s eating habits as opposed to this World Killer nonsense. She pictured Superman going through the same motions, fiddling with the clicking of oven dials and a rumbling stomach. Even the imposing figure of Supergirl seemed offset by thinking of her fumbling around in a kitchen. Power and mundanity all rolled into one bizarre image. It was a wonder if being bullet-proof, the flying and the danger ever got as normal as the frozen pizza she was putting in the oven. She pulled out the oven tray she had pre-heated without thinking. The heat barely registered on her bare hand. The now-useless oven gloves lay sadly on the opposite counter as she placed the pizza on the tray and the oven clanged shut. Ruby re-emerged as she made her way to the living room.

“What’s for dinner?” Ruby asked.

“Pizza, it may be dinner for the next few days while I’m still left-handed,” she said.

Ruby planted herself next to her.

“I could always help you,” Ruby said

“You know, that’s not a bad idea. I could even teach you a thing or two about cooking,” she said. Ruby smiled. She had sat on her right side, so she leaned in and did her best to bring her close. Ruby cottoned on fast and put her arm around her. The warmth and joy Ruby brought to her could never fade, it seemed no matter what was thrown at her Ruby stayed strong. It was hard not to well up from the pride in her daughter that filled her heart.


	30. Protector

Cooking with Ruby had been fun, if not messy. With one arm to work with and Ruby’s lack of deft hands it had been a chaotic environment, cutlery recklessly clattering and a fair few spills had been dealt with. Despite the mess and the chemical smell still tickling her nose from the necessarily severe clean-up, it was the most fun she had had in a long time. The meal turned out surprisingly well all things considered, it was a welcome change of pace from the D.E.O. and the bullets that had flown at her. It had only been a couple of days, but the kitchen adventure had made it seem so long ago, she had enjoyed it so much that she had lost all track of time and found herself rushing.

“When I said we’d watch her this isn’t what I’d had in mind,” Alex said.

“Sorry, I know, I know. But Lena said the arm is ready and I’d like to be able to do the school run tomorrow on my own,” Sam said.

“Don’t worry, I’ve done a lot in my time, I’m sure I could look after a twelve-year-old,” she said. Sam nodded, knowing that Alex had underestimated how much of a handful said twelve-year-old could be. “I’ll be back soon.” She gave Ruby a quick hug and hurried out to the car waiting outside.

The luxurious leather of the car’s back seat and fresh smell always managed to impress her. The days leading up to another new arm had dragged by. Staying out of sight and worrying about Ruby while she was at school had mostly involved sitting around at home, finding ways to occupy herself. The most productive way she spent her time was getting to grips with some of the more outlandish powers she possessed. She had gathered a little more control over her flying, though she had broken a glass or two in her early attempts. Though she had been overly cautious it was becoming apparent that she was not quite as strong or fast as she had been when Reign was in control. A point further driven home when she attempted heat vision. The small piece of wood she had set out in the garden still sat there, all she had achieved was stinging her eyes and mildly warming up the air around her. The plank had gormlessly showed off that it did not even possess a mark or slight burn from her attempts. She was largely grateful at her seeming lack of power after having seen the damage Supergirl had managed with no real effort. She could only fly at a jogging pace, the ability to shatter half a block by merely landing was off the table. She looked out the window and watched the sun start to set, green turned to grey as suburbs changed to concrete. The car’s engine droned away with its surprisingly quiet hum, she barely noticed the small stops and starts as the ambience of busy traffic began to take hold. Lena’s driver was always polite and never showed any hesitation, he was also never talkative. She imagined he had seen a lot of bizarre sights in his time, she could never guess whether he simply chose to ignore the oddities Lena likely threw his way or if he was extremely loyal and well paid. Coming up with theories and stories about him had been Ruby’s latest line of intrigue, between asking when she would be saving people again.

While the seat was incredibly comfortable, she fidgeted. Lena’s generosity seemed endless and she still had no idea how to repay such kindness. At this point it was clear Lena was not after favours or up to something, even so, it was difficult to avoid feeling like she was in her debt.

As the car slowly rumbled along the temptation to simply get out and walk the rest of the way wormed into her head. She refrained, staying as out of sight as possible had been recommended to her. She sat patiently and watched pedestrians overtake them through the tinted windows.

When they finally pulled up by the L-Corp building, there was still some waiting to do. Lena insisted on meeting her personally to take her where she needed to go. After a few minutes she emerged to escort her through. The steely expression Lena deployed when she did not want to be looked at or questioned by anyone in the building was always a sight to behold. She was grateful to have Lena’s commanding presence working in her favour, it had been something she had hoped to learn when she had become C.F.O. of this place. She was certain wherever Lena went, she could convince people she owned the place and to stay back without saying a word. She followed Lena’s confident stride through reception, the small maze of corridors and finally the lab. They had gotten through with barely a glance in their direction. Lena’s expression rose to a friendly smile moment the lab door slid shut behind them, in a jarring moment she was once again the friendly scientist. They exchanged pleasantries while Lena kicked off her heels, donned flats and threw on her lab-coat.

“The machine’s ready to go, it’s exactly the same procedure as last time,” Lena said. Sam looked over at the tube. The experience had been strange enough to go through once, she took a deep breath and moved forward.

She did her best to let thoughts of having two working arms again distract her from the pinching and poking of it all. She hummed to herself to try and drown out the drilling noises. She managed to stay still a little better than last time and had become slightly more adept at ignoring the pain from an arm that was not there yet. One familiar process and a few tests later, she was sitting by Lena again. She merrily flexed the new arm, everything had gone smoothly and the disorientating feeling of having the missing arm in place was far milder this time around.

“That should be good to go,” Lena said as she packed away some of her tools.

“I’ll do my best to keep this one,” she said with a smile.

“Actually, since you mention it…” Lena rolled over to one of her workbenches in the wheeled chair she seemed to enjoy so much. She picked up a thin black bar and rolled back to her.

“I hope you aren’t likely to be in the line of fire again, but I finished up a project that would be perfect for you. If anything, it can serve as peace of mind,” Lena said as she measured up the bar along the prosthetic, it was a similar length to her forearm. Lena nodded to herself and pressed one end of it. A strap-like ring folded out of one end.

“Stand up, put your fingers through this, so the bar is lined up on the outside of your arm,” Lena said. Sam looked at the mysterious contraption Lena was handing to her. It was only slightly thicker than a ruler. It was difficult to gather what Lena was up to as she obliged and put her hand through the ring. She was mildly startled when it clamped down onto her palm with a click and the bar sealed itself onto her forearm.

“What is this, Lena?” she said.

“See that small panel by your knuckle?” Lena said. Sam looked at her hand, the sturdy strap around her palm seemed to be entirely the same shade of black as the rest of the attachment, with a closer look she saw a slight divot at the side. “Put your arm out in front of you like this and press it.” Lena had rolled back and put her arm out parallel to her chest, she was struggling to contain a grin and had an excitement comparable to Ruby’s, though Lena was mildly better at containing it. With a slight hesitation she put her arm out and pressed the divot with her thumb. She let out a small yelp as the black bar violently folded itself out into a large, round shield. Her mouth dropped as she inspected this new attachment of hers. She brought the top of it just below her eye-level, the bottom edge reached to about half-way down her thigh. Lena clasped her hands and rested her thumbs beneath her chin.

“All the bullets in the world would hardly dent that material. I know CADMUS have left you and Ruby alone after the attack, but if something happens again, you’ll be better prepared,” Lena said.

“I… don’t know what to say,” Sam said, it thudded when she knocked on the front of it with her other hand. She was baffled at how such a small bar had expanded into such a large area, let alone the strength of it.

“The D.E.O. asked me to weaponize that arm of yours, I told them there wasn’t a chance in hell I’d let that happen. This is a happy compromise,” Lena said.

“Quite the compromise…” Sam said. She pressed the panel again, she threw her arm forward to counter the force of the shield as it frantically folded back in like releasing a tape measure. “What’s it even made of?”

“The short explanation is a fair few alien alloys fused with a substance called Nth metal,” Lena said, smiling at her. Sam nodded uneasily, what Lena said meant very little to her so hoped Lena would avoid giving her the long explanation. Sam deployed it again, she braced herself more strongly. Even with her strength, the shield folding out was a hell of a force.

“Well it really is quite something,” she said, she admired the silver framework on the front and knocked on it with a satisfying clang a couple more times for good measure.

“Just pull the strap forward on your palm when you want to remove it, I imagine you don’t want to accidentally deploy while you're driving or something. Granted you need to press it pretty hard to get it to work but still…” Lena tailed off. Some doubts had crept into Sam’s head and it looked like Lena was picking up on it.

“This shield, it must be extremely rare…” she said. Lena smiled nervously.

“Yes, I don’t know how he procured such a substance, but my associate made it pretty clear that replacing it could take a while,” Lena said.

“Associate?” She said. Lena seemed to catch herself. She straightened out her lab coat and seemed to reset herself, but still displayed a certain unease.

“An associate of mine clued me onto Nth metal. He mostly made it out as nothing more than a strong material, after studying it more closely I’ve discovered a whole wealth of applications. One is its ability to compact and reform rapidly without losing density. Its capabilities as a smart material are like nothing I’ve ever seen,” the pace of her words quickened as she spoke.

“What’s this really about Lena, why go to so much trouble? Why throw such a rare material my way?” Sam said. Lena’s nervous smile slowly dropped to a concerned look. Lena rubbed the bridge of her nose and ran a hand through her hair.

“I know what the D.E.O. are like, Sam. They wouldn’t have asked me to meddle with the arm without a reason. I’m not going to tell you not to work with them, you have to look after Ruby, I get that. And I’d also be a major hypocrite if I told you to take a step back or let others handle your problems for you. Just… be careful,” Lena said, her eyeline dropped to the floor. Sam looked down at her new arm, it gently whirred as she rotated it. She hoped the shield would be unnecessary with what the D.E.O. had lined up for her.

“I appreciate this, what I’m doing is a necessary risk. I’ll be damned if I let myself get hurt,” she said.

“Well, that shield is just one more tool to prevent that from happening,” Lena said, rubbing her hands. “This associate of mine also claimed it disrupts magic, though I’m pretty sure he was pulling my leg on that one.”

She met Sam’s gaze again. Sam gave her a small nod, she deployed and retracted the shield at consistent intervals. It took a few attempts to brace correctly, each time the pushback of it folding out so rapidly became easier to read.

“Do you ever stop?” Sam said, Lena had been watching the shield intently as she fiddled with it.

“What do you mean?” Lena said.

“You put this together in the space of a few days, on top of everything else you must have going on. I don’t want to be a burden,” she said. Lena rolled back and cleared up more of her workspace.

“You aren’t a burden, don’t ever think like that. As far as slowing down, it used to be something I never did. I was cold then, calculating…” she tailed off slightly, but promptly shook herself back into the moment. “There are people in my life that showed me the value of taking my foot off the pedal. That shield of yours was actually a break from my usual routine and something I more than enjoyed doing. Also, as much as I’d love to claim I put that together so quickly. It’s research I’ve been tinkering with for a few weeks, you were just a good reason to move forward with it. I’m not one for the frontlines and don’t have super-powers, my research is just one of my ways of helping people. It also helps that the science behind it is fascinating.” Sam moved in and helped tidy things away, she saw Lena mask a flinch when she got closer. As much as she seemed to have things worked out, there were dents.

The lab was back to its pristine self. Sam folded her arms and took in the space, the bar the shield folded into pressed against her skin. It was cold and metallic despite the slight give it had when she pressed into it.

“I’ve got a few more things to sort out down here,” Lena said, she stepped off toward where Sam knew the cleaning supplies were. The smell of disinfectant pre-emptively tingled in her nose.

“I’ll leave you to it. Thanks again,” she said, waving her new arm.

“Any time. Stay safe out there,” Lena said. Sam made her way out, the Alex would be waiting at the D.E.O., she scratched at her new arm. The mental image of the shield bursting out gave her a more confident stride toward this unknown.


	31. Revelation

The fancy screens in the D.E.O.’s central hub were for more than just for show. A live map of where she needed to head was glowing at her while agent Schott went over some more details. The truth of the matter was that they had very little to go on. The leads they had were only through rumours and hearsay. There were vague keywords they had their eye on and a few anomalies internationally they thought might relate. It was not lost on her that one of these words, “drain,” had been muttered to someone on the phone by Lena. She could only assume she was working in tandem or doing her own research into the matter, based on the arm request it made sense that there was some communication between them. Through some reconnaissance on recently discovered members and a bit of luck they had stumbled on a location for a meeting of the Kryptonian cult. It was her job to listen in and potentially clarify what they had already heard.

“From what we know, they’ll have no intention of harming you. The most likely reaction will be reverence, you can use that. But if anything seems off you can get out of there as fast as you can. This is just information gathering,” Alex said, her face was lit up by the green tint of the screen. Sam was taking deep breaths, rubbing the shield bar on her arm.

“Will I have a wire or anything,” Sam asked.

“We don’t know what they’re capable of and what might spook them. I’m not sure the arm is even a good idea, but I won’t take that away from you,” Alex said. The idea of going in alone was a daunting one, but she tied her hair back and clenched her fists. This was as ready as she was ever going to be. “We’ll watch as best we can from here and have people on standby, ready to jump in if things get hairy.” She did not care whether Alex could sense her unease or if she was being thorough.

Their meeting spot was isolated, a small warehouse district. She adjusted the pauldron agent Schott had designed for her right shoulder, it covered most of the upper arm. It was bulky and uncomfortable. She was told it was designed to look menacing along with the practical value of protecting the joint the artificial arm was sealed onto.

After going through what little detail they had, it was time to head out. She looked to Alex.

“Well, let’s get this over with,” she said.

“Good luck. And remember, no unnecessary risks,” Alex said. Sam nodded and waited for her to make some sort of move. Alex exchanged the same look, seemingly waiting for something that was yet to happen. “You can head out when you’re ready. I’ll follow you on the screens as far as I can.”

“I know it’s quite close, but you can’t expect me to walk through National City like this,” Sam said, adjusting the mask on her face. Alex rubbed her neck.

“Remember, you’re Reign to them. I can’t exactly drop you off… we were expecting you to fly there,” Alex said.

“Right,” she said, her feet were heavy. Despite the practice she had done, having to fly on demand in front of a room full of people added a ton of pressure she was not prepared for. She took a deep breath to try and ease the pit in her stomach. She closed her eyes and did her best to clear her mind of the blinking screens and chattering agents. Her concentration paid off as the familiar tingling lightened her feet and they dipped away from the hard floor. She opened her eyes, hovering several feet in the air and looking down at the various agents weaving through the room. Only a modicum of attention was being paid to her. She looked up at a rather plain ceiling, the floating sensation and power promptly vanished when there was no clear direction from here.

“Is there some sort of secret door, or am I supposed to walk out of first?” she said.

“No, there’s a narrow tunnel we had installed leading directly up,” Alex looked up with her and tried to spot this entrance. After a few moments of scanning the ceiling, Alex pointed.

“That’s the route Supergirl takes.”

“Well, wish me luck,” Sam said, she floated toward this small entrance.

“You’ll do fine, if things get dangerous don’t be afraid to bug out. Your safety is more important than our intel” Alex said. Sam nodded at her before she hovered out of view. The narrow tunnel was uncomfortably warm as it led directly up. It was dark and cramped, the height of the building dawned on her as her slow pace made the tunnel seem endless. It was hard to tell how high up she was in the poor lighting, eventually she heard a panel slide open above her. The sound echoed through as she floated toward the light, she tried to imagine Supergirl taking this same tunnel. From what she had seen she doubted it took her this long, the opening at the top seemed impatient as more light flooded in. Eventually she pushed herself out of the top and the panel slid shut. The D.E.O.’s roof was surprisingly clean, she guessed it saw more action than most roofs. She tried to focus on the task at hand and floated toward her destination. When she cleared the rooftop, she made the mistake of looking down. She threw her eyeline up to the sky as the image of nothing but gravity between her and a very far-off ground gave her an unpleasant head rush. The dizziness took its time fading as she counted clouds to try and distract herself. This was a stark difference from her previous record of a few feet off the ground. The unsettling vertigo took its time to fade, when it finally became somewhat manageable, she opened her eyes and exhaled sharply.

“I’m going to have to get used to this,” she whispered to herself. It took her a few moments to get her sense of direction back. Not only had she never been this high up before, she also never had this much space to work with. Now was a better time than any to try flying faster. The thought that the faster she got to her destination, the sooner she could have solid ground beneath her feet was a motivator. Images of an excitable Ruby showing off Superman posters entered her mind, they always showed him with arms forward. It seemed a good a plan as any and she copied the poster by throwing herself forward. The sensation of this sudden momentum created from nothing was like electricity flowing through her body. The wind rushed through her hair as she picked up more speed, fear turned to exhilaration when she dared to look down again. The height was still a little dizzying, but she started to get her head around that she only needed her will to stay suspended in the sky. It was so different to standing on tall buildings or looking out of an airplane’s window. The freedom of movement and air rushing past her ears was uncanny, for the first time since this whole mess started, she was grateful for this new life of hers. The renewed confidence of picturing Ruby watching her Superman moment drove her on. She doubted she was even travelling particularly quickly, though the city rushing below her made it seem like a million miles an hour. She found herself smiling, so distracted that she nearly overshot her location. She kept just about enough awareness to slow herself and come to stop above her location. Hovering downward was even stranger than flying. The ground slowly got closer and the city started to return to its normal size.

It was an abandoned warehouse district near the coast. She took in her surroundings as the solid ground tapped at the soles of her feet. Her body felt heavy when she let go of that electricity that kept her afloat. Wear in the paths over time had formed a significant valley in the concrete. It allowed a very large puddle to form, even with the dry weather it was clear it would take it’s time to evaporate. She caught her reflection in it, it was faint and drowned out by a sea of other smaller reflections. They had outfitted her with a black suit, the material was soft to touch, lightweight and breathed well. It was similar to what she had unconsciously put together when Reign was taking hold. Sturdy boots covered her calves with attachments at the top to provide protection for the knees. Leather seemed to have been put in to stylise the pointed belt and cover some of the tight-knit mesh of the torso that covered her up to the neck. The mask itched, though less intricate than before it still covered majority of her face. The blackness heavily contrasted with her skin and her plaited red hair swung freely as she turned. The flexibility and ease of movement she had in the suit was not quite a memory, though the familiarity of it put her on edge. The main differences from before were the lack of the skull symbol that had been burned into her thoughts before she changed. If she never saw it again it would be too soon, so she was grateful. Lena had kept the arm changes close to the chest, so the D.E.O. designed around it and made it sleeveless. The silver linings of the pauldron shimmered. She kicked a small pebble into the puddle, it plopped in and she saw her image ripple away.

As run down as her surroundings were, broken windows and aged materials on the warehouses around her, there was a fresh smell in the air. It was cleaner that most of the city, the distinct lack of engine noise and through traffic felt related to this fact. It was disconcerting, all the sights pointed to this place being abandoned. Her nose and ears disagreed. She flicked a nearby chain-link fence, it rattled at her. She stopped herself, focusing back at the task at hand. She had to walk in one of these warehouses like she was a domineering alien. The flight over had made it less of an illusion to her.

She hovered and focused hard. The quiet made it easy to pick up muffled speech, she honed in on it with her heightened hearing. She slowly rotated as she let her ears guide her closer to her target. Her eyes stung and blurred as she tried to stare through the walls, her sight was somehow blocked by several of the surrounding buildings. Flat surfaces that her vision failed to penetrate. Instead, she trusted her ears. It drew her eyeline further across the rows of tatty buildings and picked up slight blurs with distinct outlines. It was the only building with a group of people that she could pick up on. She found a side-door and landed gently beside it, she put her hand up to it, she stopped herself before she pushed forward.

“You’re Reign again, these people will revere you,” she said under her breath. She rolled her shoulders and looked up to the sky. With a deep breath in through her nose and letting the air rush out of her lungs, she tried to release the tenseness in her shoulders. She pushed through to see a dimly lit, open space, a few beams of light seeped through sad looking high up windows. They were reinforced only by a few lamps at ground level. She took in the scene of a few dozen chairs facing a makeshift lectern that was placed in front of a smooth black obelisk. A strong white glow emanated from one side as the familiar Skull symbol she had once worn shone brightly near the top. As the small crowd of casually dressed men and women noticed her, they immediately fell to one knee. Only two remained standing. The man at the lectern was wide-eyed and open-mouthed. The other was located near the back of this congregation. His slouch changed to a broad stance as he glared daggers into her. She recognised him immediately, it was the man who had started all this. Spark’s stare only lasted a moment as he read the rest of the room and slowly bent the knee. All others had bowed their heads to the floor or looked away, but his eyes remained up. That same intense watching he had inflicted on her when he first showed up at her porch.

“We have been blessed this day. A visit from one of Earth’s redeemers. Welcome, Reign.” She turned to him with a start, even the brief look of disdain Spark had thrown at her had distracted her from the man who was presumably the leader. She stood tall as she could and slowly turned her head to look over everyone in the room. The man behind the lectern was quite short with fair hair, he wore plain black clothing and there was a small, worn book in front of him.

“Carry on as you normally would, I want to hear what the loyal have been saying,” she said, she attempted to sound relaxed. She had led enough meetings with investors in her time to at least fake it when she needed. The man faffed slightly, nervously flattening out the book in front of him.

“May they rise, redeemer?” He asked. She folded her arms and scanned the room again, her eyes fell to spark. His gaze had not broken

“No,” she said, she watched the man closely.

At first his wording was slightly broken and hesitant as she caught side-glances toward her. He soon found his rhythm again, spouting at the kneeling flock. She kept her arms folded and hoped the mask would help her in staying stone-faced. Though she tried to ignore it, the presence of Spark was burning into her. The glare he had shot at her seemed to linger despite the fact he joined the kneeling mass. She shook it off and tried to pay attention to what was being said. It was an impassioned speech about the sins of humanity and how it paled in comparison to the wonders of Krypton. The leader spoke well, his talk of this utopia’s beautiful orange skies and its just society was even starting to spur her imagination despite knowing how dangerous this cult was. The minutes started to drag as the messages grew repetitive. The themes were clear, humanity’s insignificance, Krypton’s superiority, the need for change and the required devotion from the silent, kneeling flock. The preacher paused and took a breath, looking to her with a disturbing admiration.

“And of course, one of the five that will grant us salvation from this imperfect world is with us. Those who would kill what we are to start afresh.” The congregation joined in unison with his next words. “The catalyst shall bring them forth. One to drain the land of its misguided defiance, one to cleanse this land of imperfection, one to shape it into a worthy new world and one to rule over us while our salvation beckons.” He closed the book in front of him and gestured to her. She remained silent, trying to process what she had heard. The number she had heard was always four from Lena and her D.E.O. briefings. She had little time to dwell, it was clear this preacher expected her to take over in some form, her mind raced. All she had to go on for being some sort of alien dictator was management experience, it would have to do. She slowly strode toward this preacher and spun back to the others.

“Stand,” she said. It was quite the mix, young and old stood before her. There were reverent looks from almost all of them. Her eyes were drawn once more to Spark, standing at the back. He was the only one amongst them who was not in awe. When he caught her gaze, he gave a subtle shake of a head and a gesture to the exit. She ignored it, instead turning to the preacher.

“Tell me, what is your name,” she said, she used her most authoritative tone.

“George, George Carlson” he said averting eye contact and bowing ever so slightly. She looked down at the lectern and at the book he was reading from. She picked it up, it had black leather binding and hand-written notes. A distinct lack of structure or consistency on the page combined with different handwriting suggested it had been added to by more than one source over time.

“You seem to know an awful lot, where exactly did you get this?” she said.

“It’s the work of your most devoted follower, Thomas Coville. He spent years studying the beacon, interpreting and learning what he could of your language. He died a martyr, fighting for Krypton and the new world. I do what I can to interpret, expand upon and keep his teachings alive. I may not have the lifetime of study he has, I like to think my devotion to Krypton makes up for these shortcomings,” he said. She nodded without a word, she closed the book, keeping it in her possession. She looked to the glowing white lights of the obelisk. The prominent white skull symbol helped light the lectern. Now she was closer, she saw fainter glowing from all over it. It was some sort of script, she leaned in. It was not a language she had seen before, but found herself recognising it. This flock seemed to wait patiently as she flicked through the book. There were four sides to the obelisk, she skimmed its brightest side. The symbols seemed to resonate with her, somehow able to interpret them with ease. It was headed by these strange symbols, she understood the word, “Reign.” Below were descriptions, she flicked through the book to the corresponding page, one with a sketch of the skull symbol. The book had little more than a name and basic characteristics. She tried to keep her breathing slow as she read them. It described her, not Sam Arias but what she was now. The red hair, the white skin, even the black uniform and symbol were in there. She looked back to the obelisk, the strange language largely matched up with what had been written. She flicked over to the next page, it was a similar template but instead there was a sketch of a lotus and a heading “Flower of Heaven.” She looked at another face of the beacon, the glow was much fainter but at the top was a lotus that matched the book’s sketch. The faint writing was hard to read. She tried to brush it off and leaned in close. She jumped back startled as a deep, male voice boomed out from it. Once more in a language she did not recognise, but somehow understood.

“Continuing secondary protocols, Reign’s activation accepted.”

All the other side’s glow began to brighten, the white light filled the dark room. Her head snapped back to the George and the flock.

“Of course that’s why’ve you’ve visited us. It really is time, we must prepare,” George said, the excitement in his voice reached new levels. “Thank you for your blessing Reign, we will do what we must.” She nodded, the mask hiding her bewilderment. There was an excited chatter amongst the flock as they began to move, only Spark was silent. He took a step back, eyes wide in horror. It was only momentary as he nervously brought himself back into the room. He caught her eye again, he tapped his ear at her and began to whisper. She caught his drift and honed her hearing toward him. His hushed tones were harsh and urgent.

“We don’t want secondary protocols. Let these idiots go, we’ll have time while they prepare and spread word to the others. The D.E.O. will have no idea what to do, so go to Lena as soon as…” He stopped as another cultist came up to him, he nodded convincingly at whoever it was. She had so many questions, but feared disrupting whatever was going on would give her away

George walked up to her.

“We will mobilize and act in Krpyton’s name, the day is upon us. Thank you for allowing us to be part of this” he said with a smile. The cultists were moving out with an excitable buzz about them, seemingly happy to ignore the book and beacon. She looked uneasily at the bright beacon as the cultists began to disperse, she wanted more from Spark but he did not have the chance to pull away from the crowd. Soon she was left alone with the humming of this strange artefact. Her mind raced, she wanted to stay and read it to maybe get any idea of what just happened. She had no phone or way to communicate with anyone outside the warehouse. Lena’s request to Spark’s involvement and his clear understanding of what had happened had her leaning toward following the instruction. If anything, Lena’s office would have a phone she could contact Alex with. She waited a few moments, hoping the cultists would have got some more distance and set off.

The sensation of flying was lost on her as her mind raced away. Questions as to what mobilised meant, what Spark knew and what this beacon were all clashed with each other. Theories overlapped theories as the L-Corp building drew ever closer. She wanted to flick through the book again, though she lacked the confidence to read and fly at the same time. It would also likely just raise more questions.

She saw the balcony up ahead, the gamble that she would be in her office had paid off as she came to a less than graceful landing. Lena swivelled in her chair and cowered when she saw her, visibly startled and grabbing her chair tightly.

“Sam?” Lena croaked out

“What, sorry, yes it’s me,” she said, taking off the mask. She had been so wrapped up in thought she forgot she was dressed like Reign. Lena took a moment to breath heavily.

“I’m sorry, I forgot…” she started, Lena put up a finger.

“Don’t apologise, just need a moment,” Lena said, still coming down from her initial shock. It was odd being back here. Vague of Reign’s violence flashed in her mind as she took in the surrounding office, even with the redecoration it was uncomfortable to be back.

“I didn’t mean to drop in on you like this, but something’s happened. Spark was there and told me to go to you,” she said. Lena reached back and turned her screen monitors off.

“Okay, explain everything,” Lena said through laboured breaths.

“I can wait if you want,” she said.

“No, I’m sure this is urgent,” Lena said. Sam explained her involvement with the D.E.O. in more detail, Spark’s presence at the warehouse and his understanding of the strange beacon. Lena’s tension began to ease as Sam spoke, allowing herself to breathe deeply and focus on the words. She glanced through the book as she listened to Sam’s explanations.

“You were probably right to listen to him, if anyone knows what’s gone on it’s him. Why he sent you my way first… Is there anything of note you can recall. Anything that sticks out?” Lena asked. She thought for a moment, it was a fact almost lost against the rapid developments and her own racing mind.

“Well, there was one thing that stuck out to me. George in his little speech called me one of the five, both you and the D.E.O. seemed sure there were four World Killers,” she said. Lena stopped to think, stroking her chin as she spoke.

“Well, that information came from… Wait, you said Spark specifically mentioned secondary protocols?” she stopped and tensed up again. “Drain, cleanse, shape and rule. Does this sound familiar to you, be as specific as you can.” Sam nodded.

“The D.E.O. had keyed in on them and for the cult it was like a little prayer they had to end the service, except it started with something about a catalyst bringing them fourth,” she said. Lena stopped to think, she quickly flicked through George’s book again and stopped at a page. Sam tried to read through herself as Lena’s eyes scanned down the page but found it difficult at the angle she had. Lena’s fist seemed to clench and her jaw tightened, she slammed the book shut and turned around. Sam was not sure what to say at Lena’s sudden outburst. She was saved by the ringing of a phone. Lena swivelled back around and checked it, the name “Monarch,” was on the screen she exhaled sharply, waiting a few rings before answering.

“We have a major problem, come to the Cheshire as soon as possible,” his voice was met with silence. “Hello? Lena?” She stared down at the phone, unclenched her fist and spoke in a harsh tone that Sam had never heard from her before.

“There’s no way I’m coming to you,”

“You sound angry, is this not a good time?” he said

“You know damn well why I’m angry,” she said. A sigh made its way through the speaker.

“Arias is already there isn’t she,” he said.

“That’s right. Catalyst,” she said. Sam was taken aback, she grabbed the book and started flicking through pages to try and find out what exactly she was listening to.

“At least let me come to your office and explain myself,” he sounded slightly desperate.

Lena ran her hands through her hair. She rubbed her eyes and looked over at her. “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she muttered to herself before speaking up. “If I get one more lie out of you or you do anything I don’t like, I’ll throw you to the D.E.O. so fast that that smug look of yours wouldn’t even have had time to drop from your face.”

“That’s all I ask. I’ll be at your office within the hour. Keep Arias with you, she’ll want to hear this too,” he said. Sam gave up on the book when Lena hung up the call. Lena’s head dropped onto her desk. A muted, frustrated scream vibrated through the desk.

“What’s going on?” she asked. Lena exhaled sharply again and pushed herself away from the desk. She spat out her words.

“He’s a damned World Killer, always has been.”


	32. Eternal

Lena’s fingers tapped impatiently. Sam swallowed hard and mustered up the courage to tackle the rotation of aggravated and upset expressions on Lena’s face.

“If he’s a World Killer, should we really be inviting him here?” she said.

“I’ve been dealing with him for a while now, if he wanted to hurt me he could have easily done so already,” Lena said. Her tone was flat, it sounded like she was trying to hide any real emotion. Her fingers continued to tap at her desk.

“Why hasn’t he shown any signs or had any side-effects?” she said. Lena grabbed the book and flicked back to whichever page she had read and pushed it in front of her. The page was a similar lay-out to her own, though it lacked any symbols or sketches. She picked up the book and read.

“Catalyst.

For a long time, I believed there were four World Killers, the beacon had a symbol, name and description for each. However, as I studied into the derivations and universal markers for languages, I kept spotting a recurring theme across all the artefacts that made mention of the these four. Words that roughly translated to “activate” or “trigger” would often be mentioned as well. Despite the lack of clarity and some inconsistencies, the more I find on it the more I am convinced that this catalyst is a fifth entity. The purpose seems to relate largely to lurking beneath the surface, gathering information and finding the other four when the time was right. Gifting them ascension to become the saviors they were meant to be. This is clearly a sign from Krypton. Catalyst is aptly named. A secret and silent prophet to bring forth the Earth’s redemption.”

The remaining notes commented more on the lack of direct information on this prophet and even contradictions the author had found over the years. She read through it all again.

“What makes you think Spark is this, fifth World Killer?” She said.

“He’s a nameless man that lives and breathes information.” Lena paused, she was speaking harshly and stopped to hold herself back. “From the very start he’s known a suspiciously large amount about the World Killers, I was just too distracted to clock it until now. Also, that beacon’s announcement was likely in Kryptonian, which he understood.”

“But his purpose is to activate World Killers or something similar doesn’t line up. I’d never seen him before I became Reign.” Sam said.

“There’s a lot that doesn’t align. We found another World Killer in Metropolis, he visited her and nothing overtly dangerous seems to have come from it. That’s the only reason he’s on his way here and I haven’t set Supergirl on him,” she said. Going through the reasoning was having a calming effect on Lena, she became more measured the longer she spoke.

“Speak of the devil,” Spark’s voice rang across the office. He was leaning in the doorway, again wearing a plain hoodie. His arms were folded and expression was neutral. Lena’s expression hardened again.

“None of the theatrics,” Lena said. He gave a small nod. He pulled up a third chair, planting himself on the opposite side of Lena’s desk. Sam felt uneasy as he pulled up next to her, he threw a small salute her way.

“Reign,” he said, acknowledging her.

“Please don’t call me that,” she said.

“Probably should have thought of that before showing up at the cult,” he said.

“No, you don’t get to talk like that, not anymore. You have a hell of a lot to explain and I am rapidly running short of patience,” Lena said. Spark looked to the floor before swinging himself round to face Lena.

“I’m sorry, just habit. I should be grateful you’re hearing me out at all,” he said.

“You’re right, you should,” she said. He shifted uncomfortably.

“Well, you seem to have figured some of it out. What exactly do you want to know?” He said. She tapped the book.

“Colville’s description of this fifth World Killer is too similar to you for coincidence, not to mention your knowledge and language skills. I can only guess this is the real reason you wanted to keep me and Supergirl away from this all,” Lena said, he looked like he was about to talk but Lena cut him off with a thoughtful expression. “Why all the games with me, all this time you gradually showed your hand, you must have known I’d find out.” His head tilted slightly and a grin rose on his face at Lena’s latest line of questioning.

“A mistake on my part, one I told myself I wouldn’t make again,” he said.

“Revealing your true nature?” Sam cut in. He turned to her and the smile dropped.

“No, making a friend,” he said. Lena’s eye’s narrowed.

“A very touching ay to avoid answering,” Lena said. He turned back to her, his speech was slow, almost reminiscent.

“Speak plainly, right. Well Colville’s wrong, as are you technically. I’m not some mystery fifth World Killer. I was supposed to be the first. When Superman was just a baby I’d already been on this planet for decades. Long story short, when I first landed the whole “World Killer” programming didn’t take. I had my freedom, so I set myself up with a life,” He leaned back and rubbed his forehead. Lena was content just to listen intently.

“Wait, so how old are you exactly?” Sam asked.

“Oh, I lose track. Kryptonian calendar doesn’t exactly line-up with Earth’s. I claimed I was twenty-seven when I first ended up on Earth back in the 1950s,”

“You’re in your nineties?” Sam said. Lena still content to listen wordlessly.

“Probably older, but I’ve never bothered to work it out.” He chuckled as he looked at her. “That disbelief you’re sporting, it’s not new. When I first arrived on Earth, I went and got myself a normal life. I had friends, people I knew, people I loved.” He sighed.

“As the years went on it was always the same comments. “How do you stay so energetic?” “I can’t keep up with you these days.”” His expression slowly dropped. ““You haven’t aged a day since I met you.” Despite his slow speaking, he took a pause for breath.

“They withered, they greyed. Age started to take hold of them and I stayed the same. Whether it was alterations that had been made to me or whether it was just being Kryptonian, it became obvious that my lifespan was far longer than those around me. That man I was had to die, if I left it much longer they’d all have known something was up. I had to become this. Monarch, Spark, any name that tickled my fancy. A detached drifter who would learn what he needed and move on.”

“Why didn’t you tell them?” Sam said. He raised an eyebrow at her.

“Not exactly easy to broach the subject, I couldn’t just rock up and tell them I was an immortal alien,” he said.

“They might have understood,” she said. He laughed.

“Things were different then, people didn’t think aliens existed. Even when Superman first started flying around people didn’t believe it. It’s not like today where you see them wondering the streets. That’s all beside the point now anyway. The people that knew me have either mourned me and moved on, or have died themselves,” he said. The two of them were mildly startled when Lena decided to speak.

“Soon after we first met, you told me you were married to your lifestyle. You were telling the truth, weren’t you?” She said. He smiled again.

“Never said it was a happy marriage. I also told you I didn’t know who I was, a truth in its own way. It was after I left those people behind, despite my drifting I still kept my ears out, I found out about Kryptonian relics and tech still dropping down to Earth. Along with humans that were collecting them. I could only assume it was related to my initial purpose and the trail led me to National City. When I shifted from a regular guy to what I am today,” he said.

“So where do I fit into this. Why not just tell me, you know I would have understood,” Lena said.

“You don’t get it do you? Immortality, Lena. I had to watch people I cared about slowly die while all I could do was just carry on. I promised myself I wouldn’t let it happen again. Then you waltzed along, at first you were like any other. A mark, an asset, whatever you want to call it. Then you suggested we keep meeting. Made sense at first, keeping a useful asset on side. I didn’t realize what was happening until it was too late. You could talk to me about your problems openly and for me there was someone who merrily listened to my garbage. I play the fool and test patience so my recurring contacts don’t get too close. You saw through that and gave as good as you got…” he adjusted in his seat straightening his posture. He cleared his throat.

“I didn’t tell you at first, for obvious reasons. As it became clear the truth would come out, I told myself to detach and move on again. I simply couldn’t bring myself to do it. I enjoyed being myself with someone too much to let it go. So I skated by, wondering how to broach this whole World Killer association I have this late in the game. And now here we are, I know that I will have to watch you age and die too. Just another to add to the list of those I’ve lost. Perhaps no forgiveness from you would make my life easier,” he said. Lena was quiet for a moment, processing what had been said. Sam filled the silence again, worried about some of the implications he was making as a World Killer.

“You mentioned alterations and programming, what do you mean?” she said. He was distracted, trying to read Lena’s reaction, but obliged her question.

“It’s why I wanted you hear actually. World Killers aren’t just average Kryptonians. We were genetically designed to react and mutate in specific ways to the yellow sun. I was made to blend in, gather information and pass it on to you when you were to be activated. It’s why I appear so human. I have heightened senses and can heal myself like nobody’s business, but the strength, flight, laser eyes and all that nonsense must have been too obvious, so that was suppressed when I was tinkered with. I figured the whole immortality thing would make me stick out too much as well. Turned out not to be the case, apparently I was down here for the long game. Which brings me to you.” He looked over at Lena again before looking back at her, it was not until now that he had avoided making direct eye contact with her.

“I’m no scientist and only have a very basic grasp on how the genetics of it all works… when all is said and one you’re a Kryptonian and I’m guessing your daughter’s father is human. The fact your Kryptonian biology would have been suppressed at the time also raises a whole wealth of questions, but my point is…” he stopped himself for a moment, like he was trying to find the right words. She feared she already knew what he was going to say.

“You think I’m going to outlive Ruby.” She said, he looked away again, unable to maintain eye contact.

“I’ve shown no signs of ageing for seventy years. My logical guess is that all World Killers were designed to last far longer than a human lifetime, not just me. You’ll stay the same while your daughter ages regularly,” he said. She froze, piecing together the implications.

“What do I do?” She said.

“I don’t know, if I were any good at dealing with this, I doubt I’d be sitting here right now at Lena’s mercy,” he said. Her breathing became quiet as she stared off at nothing in-particular.

“You have all this information, you knew the cult. Why did you even seek help?” Lena said, once more taking the two of them by surprise.

“I was sent to this planet before the other four were mostly theory. I assume some sort of programming was meant to update my lack of knowledge over the years. As that didn’t take, all I had were vague concepts. A lot of what I know is what I’ve pieced together myself or learnt from the cult. More learning requires contacts, eyes and ears,” he said. Lena’s stern gaze held. Neither of them dared disrupt the silence before she made her next decision.

“Go to the D.E.O., Sam and I will follow you shortly. I get the feeling you’re going to explain whatever’s going on with that beacon and the World Killers in a lot more detail, so you may as well tell everyone at once,”

“I don’t think…” He started, Lena cut him off.

“Look, Monarch, I want to believe our friendship is genuine. But I just can’t let you keep this up if you’re playing me. So it’s all hands on deck, regardless of how you may feel about them,” she said. He looked like he wanted to respond or retort, but he swallowed his pride and nodded. He put the chair back in place and addressed Sam.

“For what’s it’s worth. I’m sorry about my first impression. I wanted to warn and also suspected the DEO would be lazy with your protection. So I did enough spook them into looking after you more closely, figured they could use someone who understood Kryptonian on hand as well. Didn’t account for CADMUS swooping in and making them so jumpy that they’d throw you in the field,” he said. She just nodded at him, there were too many thoughts to deal with. He stood at the desk, a little lost.

“Well I guess I’ll be on my way, no escort or failsafe?” He said.

“No. If we get to the D.E.O. and you aren’t there. I guess I’ll know this was all another elaborate lie and I can move on,” she said. He hesitated, as if there was a lot he wanted to say. Instead, a half-smile crept on to his face.

“See you at the D.E.O.,” he said. He backed off and left the office, there was no swagger in his step. The door swung shut, Lena slumped back and closed her eyes. She seemed exhausted. After a few moments to herself she sat back up again.

“I can run tests on you and Ruby, find out if his fears have any validity,” Lena said.

“I don’t think I want that. Not yet. I need to time to get my head around it,” she said. Her brain was frozen, it was difficult to even comprehend the ton of bricks that had been dropped on her.

“I wish I could tell you I understood what you’re feeling, all I can do is try to make it better,” Lena said. Sam had no intention of talking about it further for now, instead she looked over at the closed door.

“You’re just trusting him, why?” She asked. Lena looked down at her desk and started to fiddle with a few bits and bobs.

“Because I believe him,” Lena said.

“Why, has he done anything to earn this sort of faith?” she said. Lena fidgeted and looked past her.

“I’ve been in his position. Backed in a corner with no reason for anyone to give him of the benefit of the doubt and a nasty label to drag him down even further. I came out of It stronger because someone took a chance on me despite all reason and logic going the other way,” Lena glanced off at nothing and carried on.

“I also used to believe that I couldn’t get close to people, it takes its toll, makes you believe the stupidest things like keeping one’s burdens to themselves is better for everyone. I was dragged into the light because someone believed in me. I have to pay that forward. Sure, I could lash out. I could blame him for betraying me or come up with some elaborate scheme to pay him back. But one’s own pain is never an excuse for a lack of empathy.”

“It can’t be that simple,” Sam said.

“Why not? If anything, how he acts from hear on will show us his intentions. He can’t stand the D.E.O., if he turns himself in that’s at least a step to knowing his allegiances. Besides, it’s not like Supergirl would have any issue dealing with him now we know who he is or once was,” she said.

“It’s a hell of a risk,” she said.

“I’m willing to bet his involvement with World Killers wasn’t his choice, same way you didn’t choose it and the same way I didn’t choose to be a Luthor. I think he’s doing the best with what we has,” Lena said.

“And if you’re wrong?” She said.

“Then I’m wrong. But he’s known about that cult before I even met him, he could have easily stepped in and made them far more dangerous.” She stood up and straightened out her clothing. “You also said that beacon announced secondary protocols. Call it an educated guess, but I think Catalyst was the primary means of activating it, which he could have easily done by now if he so chose.”

She looked out the window with an uneasy expression. Sam joined her, there was logic along with her sentimentality and Lena had a clearer idea of what was going on than she did. Despite this, it was still difficult to understand her faith in this strange man. Though it was hard to think clearly at all, the sheer confusion over the concept of outliving Ruby was like an out of body experience that she could not bring herself back from.


	33. Interruptions

Time was flying, Lena tried to reassure her about possibilities with Ruby and avenues that could be pursued if Spark’s theories were true. It was hard to tell if her rushed talking was to try and make her feel better or to distract herself from the risk she had just taken with Spark. Sam was only half-listening due to the fact Ruby was consuming her mind. Ruby had already dealt with so much, now she had to tell her this news. Telling her before knowing for sure or when she was this young felt wrong. The reaction she would get regardless of Ruby’s age was hard to imagine. Never having to go through her mother’s loss might even be a positive thing. In-turn, she would be there for Ruby’s entire life. Grandkids, great grandkids, she could be there for numerous generations of Arias’. The look on Spark’s face haunted her though, having to carry on as your loved ones pass on. He had been through it and in its own way, it broke him.

Lena’s phone blared at them, it interrupted her train of thought. She managed to catch the name of the caller as Alex Danvers before she picked it up.

“Lena, a person of interest just showed up at our HQ. He claims you and Sam Arias sent him here,” she said. Lena could not help but smile when she heard this.

“That’s correct,” she said.

“I guess Sam is safe and with you then. We’ve put him in a cell as a precaution, I’m guessing he’s not a threat if he’s following your orders,” Alex said.

“Orders is a little strong…” Lena paused and chuckled to herself. “I’m on my way over, keep him in the cell until I arrive.”

“So he is dangerous?” Alex said.

“No, just think of it as a favour to me,” Lena said.

“I don’t appreciate being mucked around like this,” Alex said.

“I understand, all will become clear soon,” Lena said.

“It better.” Alex said, the call ended.

Lena stood up with renewed vigour.

“Let’s get to the D.E.O.” Lena said, she gathered a few things and cleaned up her desk.

They arrived at the D.E.O. headquarters quickly enough, Alex and J’onn came over to them immediately to rush them through the security procedures.

“I want an explanation of all this,” J’onn said.

“There’s been a major development regarding the World Killers, the person of interest knows what’s going on,” Lena said.

“He’s still in his cell, we sent in an interrogator to try and get some more information out of him,” Alex said.

Their footsteps echoed along the narrow corridors as they went through the security wing. Sam spent the time awkwardly explaining to Alex and J’onn why she had not immediately returned to them. Alex was irritated by the whole situation, though J’onn just listened quietly with no response. From what she could tell he was not distracted, just thinking. They ended up in a concrete room with a calm Spark on the other side.

The cell had a transparent front, Spark was casually leant up against one of the cell’s walls, with a man in a chair sat on the other side of the transparent panel.

“Get anything from him?” Alex asked.

“No Ma’am, he’s given me nothing.” The interrogator was oddly flustered as they burst in.

“Hi Lena, was the cell your idea?” Spark said, ignoring the entourage of people that had arrived.

“No, keeping you in there was though,” Lena said. Spark smirked.

“Yeah, guess I deserve that,” he said.

“Ms. Luthor claims there’s been a development with the World Killers and that you’re the best to person to brief us,” J’onn said, pushing past the casual conversation.

“That I am, can I at least be let out of this cell first. The joke’s been made,” Spark said.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Alex said.

“I literally walked into the middle of your operation unhindered, you really think this cell makes much of a difference?” He said.

“We’ll need his help, I vouch for him,” Lena said.

“You’ve made it very clear, Ms. Luthor, that your relationship with the D.E.O. is at some distance. I want more information before moving forward,” Alex said.

“That’d be a first,” Spark said. Lena shot him a look of disapproval.

“Maybe don’t antagonise the D.E.O. employees while you’re standing in a D.E.O. cell,” Lena said. He moved to the front and centre of the cell, he got close as he could to address Alex. J’onn was still quiet.

“Fine. Because you sent Reign in before doing any real recon.” He turned to Sam, “Not your fault, by the way, you did what was right for your daughter,” he then turned back. “A beacon for the World Killers has activated. I was the one designated to activate it, I kept tabs on it in for a very long time. Now I ensured before I even got to this planet that I don’t exactly work as required for this thing, but I still kept my distance. Now, whether it was the Daxamites or that new dim-wit that leads the cult, secondary protocols were activated. It bypasses my command and hands them over to Reign, who just came into contact with the beacon.” Alex tried to ask a question, but Spark ploughed through.

“Not done talking. The intended effect is to immediately activate the other World Killers. That I can’t speak much on. Reign and Flower of Heaven’s programming has been erratic, so I don’t exactly know how this beacon is going to affect the others. It would appear myself and Reign have had no reaction at all. If we’re very lucky that will be the case for the others, if we’re unlucky. Flower of Heaven, Deimax and Perrilus are about to fully activate.”

“You’re missing out a lot of details and context here. We weren’t even aware Flower of Heaven had been found,” J’onn said, stroking his chin. He had yet to raise his voice or show any sign of annoyance.

“I’m aware. I can fill in those details when time is less of a factor. Being Kryptonian, I’m afraid I can’t just transfer my knowledge to you with one of your telepathic tricks. 

World Killer’s aside, the most immediate problem is the cult. That beacon going live was a call to action. There’s about to be a lot of people running around National City looking to uh… how should I put it… Purge? They’ve got a lot of alien tech to play with and will move out soon. A lot of people are going to get hurt unless we act.”

“If you knew all this, why keep it to yourself. We could have used this intel to deal with this before it even became a problem,” Alex said.

“Caution was required. I had time to approach this carefully, to try and reach the remaining World Killers before they turned,” he said.

“So, your selfish desire to work alone caused this,” Alex said. He looked at her in disbelief.

“I’ve been aware of Krypton’s influence for decades. I finally let some information get to you and it’s not even been a week before this cult’s about to go on a rampage. Not to mention the remaining World Killers are potentially fully activated.”

“If you’d been up front and told us everything from the start…” she started.

“I am also distinctly aware of how the D.E.O. has acted towards aliens and other discoveries. You’d have hunted down the World Killers like animals. They’d either have activated from the stress or would be in a cage, just like this one. And you would no doubt be mucking around with the very tech that messes with their brain. Assuring yourselves how you’d be way more careful than the cult was along the way, all the while CADMUS moles passes that intel along to their bosses and things get even messier,” he said.

“I don’t think you’re in a position to be questioning our methods,” Alex said. Spark was about to retort, but Sam cut him off.

“Enough.” Her patience had finally worn to its breaking point. “You’re bickering when there are cultists out there who need to be stopped. We need to get a move on, you can blame each other to your heart’s content when this is over.” Spark seemed to catch himself, rapidly dropping his intense demeanour.

“She’s right. The cult will be gathering whatever weapons they can and will likely target crowded areas to be as disruptive as possible,” Spark said. J’onn finally spoke up.

“Agent Danvers, mobilise ground forces to contain any cultists. I want a set of teams engage them, keep them out away from the most populated areas. I also want a second set on the outskirts, moving people along and keeping surrounding areas clear of wherever the cult shows up.”

“Your squads shouldn’t engage them directly, guns won’t help you here,” Spark said.

“If they’re as dangerous as you say, I’m not sending my people in unarmed,” J’onn said.

“If you engage them, you’ll either be fighting World Killers, where guns will be ineffective. Or you’ll be fighting humans, where your guns will be far too effective,” Spark said.

“These people are threatening the safety of this city and innocent people, now is not the time to be backing away,” J’onn said.

“Most of the cultists are naïve, they don’t understand what they were dragged into. They blindly followed these scriptures because they were lost or alone. Let Sam and I confront them, they won’t shoot at World Killers and may even listen to us,” Spark said.

“You’re an unknown element and Ms. Arias is not a field agent,” he said.

“I want to help,” Sam said.

Before J’onn could protest an agent burst into the room.

“Sir, reports are coming in that large groups of people are firing unknown weapons in the city.”

“It’s already started. Agent Danvers, co-ordinate the teams,” J’onn stepped forward and pressed a combination of buttons on a wall-panel. The cell door slid-open.

“If you’re my best chance for a peaceful solution then I’m taking it. Our squads will stay nearby and out of sight of Ms Arias.” He turned to Spark. “You are to stay with our squads at all times, if you try anything disruptive, lose your escorts or it turns out you’re lying then they’ll be forced to engage,” J’onn said. Spark looked taken aback as he took a tentative step outside the cell.

“Thank you,” he said, it was strange to seem him so unsure of his words.

“You clearly have a better picture of what’s going on. Lena Luthor has more context and trusts you. She’s the smartest one in the room so I’m going on her judgement,” he said.

“Sir, I…” Alex tried to protest.

“I haven’t got this far in life by letting my ego get the better of me an we’re short on time,” he said, that had ended the protestations before they begun.

They began to move back through the snaking corridors to the main control room. Displays were flashing at them showing the concentrated areas the cult were targeting. J’onn handed earpieces to both her and Spark, then gave a very quick demonstration on how to change channels and communicate with specific people if need be.

“I’ll be co-ordinating from here, if I say get out of there, then get out of there. Understood?” He said.

“I understand,” Sam said.

“You’re staying back, with the powers you can sport?” Spark said.

“I’ll be needed if a World Killer pops up anywhere, there’s no guarantee they’ll aim for National City. Reports and information will be on hand here,” J’onn said. He walked over to the main displays and spoke loudly and clearly.

“Okay, people. Load up and head out, this operation starts now. I want no mistakes.”

The whole room and kicked up a gear, agents were skipping by and taking their stations. Squads were moving in formation. They would disappear out of site, only to appear armoured and armed moments later. Orders were barked and boots were quickly trudging around as the J’onn and Alex’s commanding presences kept what should have been chaos in a regimented, efficient operation. Briefings and intelligence were being passed around, the air was vibrating with energy as the full attention of the D.E.O. turned to stopping this latest threat. Images and maps were coming up on the feeds, quickly being analysed for approach patterns and covering vectors. She stood in the middle of it all, agents brushed by and the room whizzed around her whilst she was still. It was all happening so quickly and could still barely get her thoughts in order. She was so distracted she had not noticed Spark weaving through until he had appeared right in front of her.

“You’re the fastest here, go on ahead and talk to any cultists you can find. If they’re focused on you, they aren’t firing at civilians. I’ll catch up as soon as I can,” Spark fiddled with his earpiece as he spoke to her.

“I don’t really know what I’m doing here, I just…” he took her shoulder.

“Don’t doubt yourself. We were chosen on Krypton because of who we were and what we were capable of. Your strength and courage is why you were chosen to become Reign. From what little I know of your human life, against all odds you’ve always pushed forward and done what was right. You’ve proved you’re capable of greatness time and again. Nothing has ever stopped you, so this sure as hell won’t,” he said. She held his eye contact, his sincerity shone through his guarded persona. Despite the numerous questions raised by thus little speech, she looked up at the flashing screens, then to the exit. There were people who needed saving and she was the only one that could do it.


	34. Reign

She ran, her speed and reactions were beyond what she could comprehend. Racing through the streets was instinct, knowing exactly when to dip through gaps in traffic or leap over crossings. Her feet skipped along the ground. It was like floating on air, being pushed with great force every time she took another light and fast step. The coats and hair of passers-by whooshed in the breeze of her dash. It was so much faster than her flying.

“Sam? It’s Spark, checking the D.E.O. didn’t give me a dud or something,” the voice came through her ear-piece with some minor static, she could make out what he was saying for the most part.

“They’re targeting the city centre, Lena’s allowed L-Corp to be used as a safe-haven for civvies. The D.E.O. intend to use it as a defensive position once they’re in place. Get there before it turns into a warzone, the cultists will probably stop what they’re doing if they see a World Killer in their way,” he said.

“You’re currently on a channel that J’onn and I can hear. The D.E.O. operatives our trained in these scenarios. Don’t be so dismissive,” it was Alex’s voice.

“What if they see what I’m doing and shoot at me?” She said.

“You’ve got a shield, right?” He said. The pavements were getting more crowded, hordes of people going in the opposite direction in a panic. There were no gaps, she eyed a lamppost. She leaped and planted her left foot into it. Springing over the road and spinning in the air to a soft landing, barely breaking stride. Even if Reign had left, it appeared there was some talent for her powers coming back. A chill ran down her spine. She shook it off, but a worry that this natural affinity meant Reign was still lurking in her mind somewhere. It was stress and adrenaline that had unleashed her before.

“Sam?” Spark said.

“I’m still only one person,” she said, she snapped away from those thoughts and attempted to focus.

“You’ve got speed on your side, regular guns won’t do much to you. Any Kryptonian tech they’ve hoarded will pack more of a punch but the projectile will be slower,” he said.

“Will the shield definitely work against those,” she said.

“Er…yes?” He said.

The small pause was not reassuring. As she glided through the crowded streets, the sounds of violence drew ever closer. The roar of gunfire tore through the air, along with short, sharp blasts. Screaming and panic broke through the occasional silences of these weapons. Her stomach felt heavy and her feet began to slow.

“That material is like nothing I’ve ever seen, it should be able to block just about anything… in theory,” Lena’s voice came over the comms. Sam landed and came to a stop the air felt dry and she could feel her body trembling.

“In theory?” She said. There was a hesitation on the other end, in that endless pause she could almost sense Spark on the other side.

“Fear is the smart response to what’s going on right now, I won’t deny that. I’ve already told you how strong you are, but it’s your empathy that keeps you going. I know you can picture Ruby amongst that chaos. Sons, daughters, anyone caught in the crossfire of something they don’t understand. Embrace that fear, allow that instinct of yours to charge into the fire and protect the innocent to fuel you into something even greater,” he said. She took a deep breath and let her body settle. She looked straight ahead, toward the cacophony of sound and smoke.

“No more speeches,” she said. She picked up speed, bounding along the abandoned cars and drawing ever closer.

She came into land from another leap. Only one more turn away from the cult’s main assault. She turned sideways and landed at an angle. As she came back to ground, the tarmac was smooth on her feet as she drifted sideways before launching up high to take in the horrific scenes. It was not just cultists she had seen at the sermon, there were dozens more. Some of them had regular firearms, firing randomly into the air and at store fronts. The unfortunate people caught amongst their rampage were either running as fast as they could toward the beckoning doors of the L-Corp building or cowering behind cover. She could see families coughing and spluttering near smoking craters in the ground. From what she could see there were injuries but nothing life-threatening. The cultists were getting increasingly careless, shouting and yelling in the name of Krpyton. The cultists wore masks similar to hers, each with a black shirt with one of the symbols she recognised from the beacon. The shape was odd, the closest thing she could associate it too was bio-hazard symbol. In the middle of a group one was holding a standard, it was metallic and the same symbol glowed upon it. Some possessed much stranger looking weapons, they were angular and glowed with energy. She saw a cultist aim at a car and hold the trigger. The glow brightened and a high-pitched tone whistled quietly away. As the cultist released the trigger a large bolt of energy released at the car. There was a colossal crash as the car was thrown sideways by the impact. She clocked the smoking wreckage hurtling straight toward a slow-moving couple. She did not have the angle to intercept it properly, instead she jumped into the air and landed hard above it, crushing it into the ground before it could hit its victims. There was a loud crunch beneath her feet and a puff of airbags as she leaped again. Her view flitted between all the dangers before her, another of those energy weapons was pointed at a store front. They were hard to see, but a few people had taken cover inside. Her eyes widened in horror as the energy charge up, before any rational thought could stop her, she deployed the shield and dropped in the front of the gun. She had almost moved faster than her senses could process. It was like she could see herself drop to the pavement and brace hard with the shield covering her. The shield rapidly engulfed in this energy, there was surprisingly small push-back from the blast. The shield’s glow faded as the blast’s energy seemed to harmlessly be dispersed amongst it. She lowered it, standing tall with the silver linings of the shield crackling and glowing brightly.

“Stop,” she said, the sound of her voice bellowed. It cut the chaos to silence almost immediately, most of the cultists had yet to clock exactly who had interfered with them, but they stood stock-still now and nervously exchanged glances. The halt in the madness saw most of the remaining bystanders make a dash for the L-Corp building. One of the twitchier cultists took a shot at these people. Sam launched to her side to intercept the bullets. They tinked off the shield as if they were nothing as she planted her foot hard and rapidly changed her angle toward the gunmen. The inertia carried her forward and she bashed the gun out of the cultist’s hand letting, sending it in a high arc and clattering where it could do no more harm. Sam stepped back from the shocked cultist.

“I said stop,” she said. The standard-bearer stepped forward and removed her mask. She was tall with shoulder length hair.

“Forgive me, Reign. I don’t understand, now is your time. The planet is yours for the taking, we are merely aiding,” he said.

“I don’t need your aid, stop this and lay down your arms,” she said, the cultist turned from grovelling to confusion.

“We know you are all powerful, we just want to prove ourselves to Krypton. Your cohort is attacking Downtown, Perrilus will be with us soon, you need not watch over us,” she said.

She looked at the symbol again, piecing together what seemed to be going on. She clicked on her earpiece.

“I think there’s an attack group for each World Killer,” she said.

“I imagine there’s only four, I’m in my own weird category,” Spark said.

“Understood, we’ll look into it,” It was Alex’s voice.

She paid attention to the cultists again. The standard bearer raised a hand and the cultist’s weapons were all trained on her.

“Who are you talking too,” he said.

“That doesn’t concern you. Lay down your arms, this destruction must stop,” she said.

“How can such blasphemy come from someone such as yourself. The old world must be cast aside for the new. That is our purpose,” the standard bearer said. Her resolve was unwavering in the way she spoke, she could only see the eyes of the other cultists.

“Sightings of high-speed flying creatures are being reported in, we have to assume they’re World Killers, the trajectories suggest they are headed toward National City” Alex said in her ear. It was difficult to concentrate on the cultists and the earpiece at the same time. She clicked to a less busy channel it off.

“This world need not be cast aside, it must be preserved,” she said, attempting to blag her way around whatever reasoning these people had. The Standard bearer’s face hardened.

“Those are not the teachings.” A few cultists gripped their guns tighter, but there was mostly unease amongst them at the sight of this showdown. Even with only their eyes, she could the fear amongst them. It was a familiar fear, she remembered what Spark had said. That these people were lost and angry, it did not excuse their actions but she knew those feelings all too well.

“Why now, Reign? The dawn of a new age is upon us and you demand that we stop?” She said. Sam took a deep breath and cleared her throat.

“I don’t know about new ages or casting aside this World. What I do know is that I’ve thought I’ve seen the worst that it has to offer. I have suffered, I have known pain. Time and time again this world has found a way to beat me down. There was a time I followed the path of carelessness and destruction. I took everything out on myself and anyone around me.” Some of the cultists were listening closely, the standard-bearer seemed to be getting more manic.

“Keep your weapons on her” she said, some half-heartedly listened.

“I learned the hard way where rampant anger gets you. I moved on from it, let it go and moved forward. This idea you have, that Krypton is some salvation for you. You think it’s an easy way out of your pain, follow this path to finally be happy. I’m afraid it isn’t that simple. It takes resolve. Belief in yourself to push through and do better,” she said. At this point a few cultists were lifting their masks and barely paying attention to their weapons.

“But what else can we do? This is our path,” one said.

“Path’s change. Look to those that you love and those that love you, even if you think you don’t have anyone. This old world has so many willing to give that love, if you just don’t push it away. Step back from this purge, help yourselves by helping others. This destruction you’re so intent on helps nothing, this is no salvation.” She said. A few weapons dropped to the ground.

“How can you listen to this heresy?” The standard-bearer said, the standard clattered to the ground as she clambered to grab one of the dropped Kryptonian guns.

“She is a World Killer, we must heed her words,” a cultist said.

“No, something has turned her, she walks the path of salvation no longer,” the standard-bearer said pointing the gun at her. The trigger clicked and the whistling of its charge shrilly threatened her. Sam deployed her shield again, the blast harmlessly absorbed by it once more.

“This fight is not worth it,” she said.

“She tried to kill Reign, get her,” a cultist said. There was a quick scramble as the in-fighting began, Sam’s heart skipped, relaxed briefly as the gun was quickly ripped away from the standard-bearer none of them seemed interested in using guns for this brawl. She clicked her ear-piece back on.

“How close are you to L-Corp, I think this group seems to be pacified for now,” she said.

“I’ve got a squad nearby, they had to leave their transport from grid-locked traffic. They’ll be with you shortly to detain them. We’ve got locations on the other groups. J’onn has set out to deal with one of the other groups, Superman and a Green Lantern have shown up. I’ve deployed them to the other locations. This should be wrapped up soon,” Alex said.

Whilst it was more of a brawl than any overt danger, Sam was worried about the cultists hurting themselves and stepped forward to intervene. She succeeded for the most part until, using her exalted position to get most of them to sit still. Shortly a squad of D.E.O. moved in to detain them properly. Spark was amongst them and walked quickly over to her, watching the scene unfold as the cultists were processed and a few squad members went over to talk to L-Corp’s security at their doors.

He did not speak when he got to her, just carefully observed her and more of the surroundings. Smoking wreckage and bruised cultists. Some of the make-shift barricades that had been set-up inside L-Corp were being taken down. He turned back to her and cocked his head.

“No major injuries, you included. A little messy, but I’m guessing it could be much worse,” he said.

“I guess you aren’t the only weirdo with a speech or two up their sleeve,” she said. A massive grin rose on his face.

“And here I was thinking I’d have to do all the work,” he said, she smiled back at him. This bizarre man was hard to get her head around, but after a terrible first impression he knew what to say and when to say it. Even if it was all calculated, it was something she was grateful for.

“Thank you, by the way. It was your encouragement that pushed me forward,” she said. He laughed.

“You would have done it anyway, I just sped up the process,” he said, his expression shifted again as he glanced to the side. The D.E.O. were rounding up the firearms and the standard the cultists had come with.

“Erm… tell me, was that banner glowing when you first got here?” He said.

“I think so, why?” Sam asked. At that moment, the agents and cultists around them all started to cough and splutter. Some were gasping for air and fell to their knees, rubbing their chests or holding their throats. Sam’s eyes darted around, everyone in the area seemed to be going through the symptoms. Some had started to vomit and few were able to stay on their feet for long. A bitter smell started to assault her nostrils. It was nasty but easy enough to shake off. Spark was still in front of her, also not feeling the effects of whatever was taking hold of the people around them. He sniffed loudly and looked to the skies. His view drifted downward and he squinted his eyes.

“There’s why,” he pointed to a far-off figure in the sky. “Cleanse.” he said. She focused on this figure, her enhanced eyesight helping her get a clear view despite the relative distance. Whatever it was was coming toward them. It was vaguely humanoid in shape, though that was the only human thing about it. Light shimmered off the green, scaly skin as the figure hurtled their way ever closer. Before she could take much else in, she was distracted how much worse the people surrounding her were reacting. They were all wrenching and curled up in balls. The chorus of coughing only got louder before this figure landed in front of her. It was a strange sight. The figure wore a similar uniform to the one she had put together when Reign was in her head, the notable differences were the biohazard-like symbol on the chest and the green shade of it, only mildly darker than its skin. It was intimidating up close, the arms were long and looked like vines. There were no hands to speak of, only frayed spikes. The array of feathers on her shoulders and head were barely noticeable on this creature as its head resembled that of a Lizard.

“Ah, Reign. It appears some humans wished to fight with us. It’s all very quaint,” the voice was feminine. Her tone was drawn out and slow, hisses making their way into the pronunciation. An array of sharp teeth and a forked tongue showed when she spoke.

“You’re killing these people,” Spark said. The creature’s attention turned, the yellow eyes drilling into him.

“I know your face. Why do I know your face?” she said.

“Long story, you need to stop whatever this is,” he said. Gesturing to the disturbing array of sickness around them.

“No, I am doing what I must,” she said, baffled at the protest.

“Stop this now, Perrilus,” Sam said. While any emotion was hard to read on the Lizard face, she guessed Perrilus was taken aback.

“What, this is my calling. Do you not feel it too?” Perrilus said. An agent was crawling to them, struggling to breath.

“I think we should have this conversation somewhere away from people” Spark said.

“I will not waver,” Perrilus said. Sam’s mind raced, she was staring down another World Killer whilst surrounded by suffering. Time was too much of a factor to dawdle or debate.

“Stop this at once, I am not asking,” she said.

“I will do what I must Reign, even if your resolve is lacking,” Perrilus said. It was the wrong answer, she launched an upper-cut under Perrilus’ chin. The unexpected hit launched her upward. Sam bent her knees and her feet dug into the ground. The pressure in the balls of her feet built quickly before she released and launched herself with as much force as possible at the flailing body, the strange vines she had for arms flapped freely in the wind. She wrapped her arms around Perrilus’ waist, trapping the vines at her sides. She let the momentum carry them further up into the sky.

“What are you doing, Reign?” Perrilus shouted through the rushing wind. Sam struggled as Perrilus tried to wriggle free, but it was easy to keep hold of her. Either Perrilus was holding back or not as strong as her. As the momentum of the jump started to slow, she switched to flying.

“Might lack subtlety, but what you’re doing seems to be working. People at ground level are getting up again. Still smells awful but that’s probably the vomit…” Spark’s voice crackled in her ear.

“So be it,” Perrilus said. The vines flowed out and became rigid below where Sam had attempted to restrain them. They whipped around and Sam felt a severe stabbing pains in her back, she could feel the spikes digging in. Blood trickled down her back, she soldiered through. Keeping hold of Perrilus and flying further up. The struggling was becoming harder to control, the friction of the hard scales rubbing against her arms started to burn at her. The spikes ripped out of her back and whipped round, she could only watch as the spikes lurched violently into her shoulder-blades and began pushing at her. They hurtled upward. Sam had no idea how close Perrilus had to be to inflict whatever it was on the people of National City. She gritted her teeth and endured the spikes wrenching around her wounds.

“Sam, the L-Corp area is safe and…” Alex crackled to a stop mid-sentence said. Sam’s relief to hear her voice was short-lived as the earpiece died on her. There was no time to dwell on this problem as the vines drilled further into her shoulders. She unclasped her arms and brought her right arm above her head and deployed the shield. She brought it down hard at the vines above where the hardened spikes were. There was a yelp from Perrilus and satisfying snap as the spikes broke loose from the vines. She pushed Perrilus away and ripped out the spikes. She broke each one in two and tucked them into her belt, she did not want to chance dropping them if they were responsible for whatever had happened outside of L-Corp. Perrilus bared her teeth at her.

“I don’t know what has come over you, Reign. I won’t let you ruin our purpose,” she said. The words were slow and slurred. At first she thought that Perrilus’ injuries were more severe than she thought. These thoughts drifted away as her eyelids felt heavy and she started to see double. She shook her head to try and focus, she began to stifle coughs. She watched the double Perrilus merge into one and back to two again as nausea set in. The spikes were for more than just simple stabbing. Perrilus closed her eyes, the feathers on her head and shoulders stood on end and a stretching sound made it to Sam’s befuddled ears. She could see Perrilus’ arms regrow in an instant, from what she could tell they were no longer spikes at least. Her eyelids slid open again, revealing the unnerving yellow eyes once more. Perrilus lunged at her, vines flailing back. Sam had the strength and awareness to bring her shield in front and keep Perrilus at bay. A vine tried to curl around and get at her neck. Sam grabbed it with her free hand, staving off the pressure of Perrilus with her shield. The second vine was coming around her right side. Left-side vine still in hand, she brought her free arm around to grab the other. They were soft and the pull back from them was weak. Knowing she was restrained Perrilus changed tactic. She pushed forward, pressing against the shield even harder. It was not enough to halt Perrilus’ momentum, she was also forced back as the sharp teeth snapped away near her face again and again. The breath was foul as the razors snapped ever closer. The wounds and nausea made every moment of Perrilus’ bestial assault aggravating. She had lurched backward, the rush of air flying into her back wounds stung sharply but helped keep her focused through the nausea. With no sort of fighting experience to look too and her strength waning, she found herself being pushed down further and further. She wanted to reach to her ear to warn those at ground level, but she had been forced to use her free hand to push away the jaws frantically coming at her. It was difficult, trying to push away a face that was constantly moving and biting at her. Perrilus pressed herself against the shield, coming in at different angles. She was too quick to react in any way other than defensively. They were spinning in the air while tumbling groundward. Inevitably her time ran out and she lost the space to retreat too. Her back hit tarmac, they had ended up near L-Corp again. She assumed Perrilus was drawn to the banner and pushed her back here. She feared any civilians caught in the radius. She was sure she could hear coughing in the distance.

Perrilus was stood atop Sam as she strained to push her back from the ground. She was still scratching and snapping. Like a wild animal, Perrilus kept trying to get around the shield to inflict some real damage. The hard concrete of the road refused to give as she tried to pull back from the constant barrage of biting. A sudden new wave of aggression came at her, Perrilus’ maw dipping beneath Sam’s free hand. The edge of a tooth nipped face. Sam brought her free arm back and crashed her forearm into the back of the shield in an attempt to brace it. There was a colossal clang followed by a low rushing ring, Perrilus was launched away from her as the shield vibrated violently. The vines she still had gripped snapped off as Perrilus’ backward momentum was too much for them. Sam blinked rapidly to keep her sight mildly focused as the feeling of sickness lingered. Whatever she did seemed to have worked, she aimed the shield toward Perrilus, who was already diving in for another assault. She punched the back of it again. With a loud clang, a shockwave ripped through the air and knocked Perrilus even further away.

Sam was still on her back, looking up at Perrilus. The tall buildings of National city stretching out, scratching the clouds. For a split-second Perrilus stopped, distracted by something. Sam’s heightened senses were picking up a strange wave of sound. It rapidly turned into a thunderous boom as before her eyes a blaze of light crashed into Perrilus. The green figure hurtled out of sight in an instant. A force pushed against her. Glass shattered in a wave from the blaze, windows all breaking apart in turn. Car alarms blared and a cracking bang could be heard off in the distance. Sam retracted the shield. She was unsure if her nausea was still kicking in as she looked down the street. It was raining shards of glass, any debris had been pushed back or aside. Even the lampposts and traffic signals had bent and were leaning away. There was a jagged crack down the middle of the road. It was as if the street had been parted in two and everything near the centre had been pushed away. The extent of the damage was astounding, it made her grateful Ruby’s school was so far out from the city centre. The wave of relief and confusion was short lived, her heart dropped as the red blaze in the sky faded to reveal a furious Supergirl. Her shoulders were squared forward, her breathing was hard and slow. It was hard to tell, but she was sure that she was smiling. A chilling tingle worked its way around her body. She jolted in reaction, making the pain worse.

Spark then appeared above her, seemingly out of nowhere. He offered a hand to help her up. She took it, his grip was surprisingly strong as she painstakingly lifted herself from the ground. Her legs were doing a poor job of keeping her up. Spark caught her, she leaned on him to let the spinning world come to a halt.

“Take it easy, civvies have been set up in safe locations, gas masks are on their way. Just a few D.E.O. left on the scene. I don’t know if what you did was brave or stupid, but well done nonetheless,” he said. Sam was only half listening, her eyes fixed on Supergirl. She still had not moved since her cacophonous arrival. If she had noticed them, she was not showing it.

“Looks like Perrilus got a few licks in, hang on.” She sucked air through her teeth at sudden pain in her shoulders. Her attention drew back to her current situation. Spark had some sort of medical kit and was dabbing blood from her wounds. He was looking to treat them properly.

“I don’t know if we have time for triage, Supergirl could be a problem,” Sam said.

“She certainly wins the prize for property damage. The bigger problem is the power grid and tech have been on the fritz. Flower of Heaven is around somewhere, we need to get you patched up and then out of here. Especially if that’s how Supergirl is treating World Killers,” he said.

“I’m fine,” she said.

“Oh really? How many fingers am I holding up?” It was a blurry hand.

“Three,” she said.

“Swing and a miss tough-girl. You need medical attention,” he said. The wail of car alarms that had accompanied the scene came to a halt all at once. The blinking lights of the cars along with them.

“Oh for… it just keeps getting worse,” Spark said, he was looking up. Sam followed his eye line. There was a crackling energy in the sky. It was focused together, like a barely contained ball of lightning. It was hard to make out from her bleary eyes, she was sure she could make out some sort of outline of a person within it.


	35. Parallels

That calling, that bloody calling. What she had felt when she was drawn to Bloodsport was nothing compared to it. She had been looking through Prism Electricals’ client list when the violent drumming of her heart grew unbearably loud. The burning heat in her veins. The rage. She knew what this was. She had tried to deny it, to resist the ring’s relentless urges and get a hold of herself before heading out to face this threat. A call had come in, she had seen Lena’s name on the screen. She did not bother answering, she already knew what was going to be said. Her resistance failed her, the red and black uniform phased in. She had to hold herself back from smashing through her apartment wall. She hovered high. There was a smell of burning. Crashing and screaming echoed across the city, smoke was off in the distance. She closed her eyes, shut herself off to these senses. There was only one that mattered. The booming of her heart had focused her, the warmth of the burning washed over like a salve. A smile had crept onto her face as that instinct took hold. The World Killers had come and it was time to put them down. The red light burst out, the heat of it scolded her skin. There had been no pain, just a pressure building inside her, power she not known since Ysmault. Her eyes opened and the ring had found its target. As soon as she moved, like a crack of thunder she had burst through the sonic barrier. Her aura had set the air itself ablaze as she rocketed toward her prey. Her aim was true, the monster did not even have time to turn her head before Supergirl’s fist exploded into her target’s chest.

It was a rush like none other when the Lizard-headed monstrosity had shot beyond her sight. She stopped to enjoy the moment. She beamed as the heat in her blood warmed her booming heart. She tried to grasp on to it, to let it linger. A small pain in her chest began to poke through the warmth, a twinge of doubt. Her ring glimmered at her when she noticed the carnage left in her wake. The whole street had been ruined and she had not even noticed at first. Thoughts of people caught in it or their livelihoods taking a serious hit amongst the damage crept into her mind. The ecstasy of revenge was dying down far too quickly and the blaze around her began to fade.

“Such power, I can feel it,” a voice echoed out, it was amplified and distorted. She had been too distracted to notice the new arrival. Her attention was drawn to a crackling energy hovering some distance away. Amongst the wayward bolts she could see an outline of someone inside. A familiar instinct called to her from the ring, one she had experienced back when shielding the hospital. This was the same threat, the one who had been draining energy around Metropolis. The ring screamed at her to take revenge, it would be so easy. She tried to drown out the calling, looking at the devastation in front of her and thinking of those she might hurt in the process. She held her head in her hands and screamed out as the warmth turned to boiling. Her body was on fire and the blistering pain took hold as she held off her attack. The energy creature hovered ever closer, a clearer picture of her prey made it so much harder to cast out the ring’s will. A glowing outline of the World Killer’s body shone through. The torso was the size and shape of a regular human, but the limbs were long and thin. Her legs alone stretched down three times the length of the rest of her body. Her arms dangled to below her knee, they were jointed strangely as if there were two elbows on each side. Though they were difficult to make out through the unstable field of lightning around her, she saw grey shards like natural armour wrapped around her head, torso, thighs and forearms. It gave some form to the being of energy and the armour around her head was insectoid in appearance, stalks poking up like antennae. The World Killer raised her hands, focusing the energy around her into a set of wings. She threw her hands forward, sending arcs of lightning straight toward her. The beams grinded against her red aura, Supergirl had barely noticed.

Any hint of mercy was crushed by the relentless rage consuming her, the sheer effort to simply stay in place and not launch into an attack took every ounce of will she had. More arcs of lightning ripped into her. Thought there was no physical effect on her, each blast released a new wave of rage to assault her self-control.

“Stop. This.” Supergirl shouted, the words were loud and laboured. They echoed through the streets. A chuckle came from the World Killer.

“I will absorb every drop of energy that ring has to offer and then I will put this world in its place,” she said. Frustration crept its way amongst the rage, the fool had no idea what she was dealing with. After another assault of ineffective blasts, the World Killer flew at her. Time slowed down for Supergirl, she could end her so quickly. The strange insectoid figure closed the distance, her white eyes filled with hunger. Supergirl resisted meeting her assault, she did everything she could to restrain herself. Her fist unclenched as the World Killer got into range, Supergirl shifted to the side an instant before impact. She watched the World Killer rush by, only to slow herself and come back around. She dodged again, each time crying out as she fought the urge to strike back.

“Don’t make me hurt you,” she said. The World Killer laughed again, not understanding the danger she was in. The World Killer came in for another pass, grasping at her with those long, spindly hands. With each dodge she found herself less able to resist. It became too much to bear, she needed to strike out. She managed to hold back for the most part, opting to smack her away with the back of her hand. Even with the light hit, the World Killer uncontrollably spun away. She was knocked back hundreds of feet and bounced along the tall buildings in her path. The unstable lashing energy around the World Killer reeled in as she pulled herself out of the side of a building.

“Finally,” the World Killer said, not deterred by how easily she has been disposed of. There was a building pressure in Supergirl’s hands, she had to fight off clenching them into fists. The strain pulled at her muscles when she smacked away the hapless World killer again. Her eyes started to sting, tears streamed down her face. They hissed against her skin. She wiped them away and looked at her hand, the red smears faded quickly, absorbed by the ring. With a boom of her heart her eyes darted back to the World Killer. She had come at her again, not knowing to give up and save herself. Supergirl brought her hands together hard with a thunderous clap. A shockwave of air burst out of it, what was left of any surrounding window frames creaked and bent in on themselves. The World Killer’s flight was stopped in its path, she was forced to brace and steady herself.

“You don’t want this,” Supergirl said, pushing the words out from her conflicted mind. Her opponent ignored the warning and went for her again. Something snapped, her resistance finally broke. She reached out and grabbed the World killer by the neck. It stopped her dead, the sudden lack of momentum lurched the World Killer’s whole body. Her grip slowly tightened. Supergirl’s eyes glowed red, it was reflected in the arcs of lightning still whipping out at her. Her red aura crackled loudly as it came into contact with the field around this World killer, her hand engulfing it with ease.

“I warned you,” she said, more blood seeped from her eyes. The pain in her head was forcing its way to the back of her eyes, she wanted so much to crush its neck or blast the World Killer away with heat vision. The white eyes of her prey narrowed.

“You’re mine now,” the garbled voice said. The long lurching hand took hold of Supergirl’s ring-hand and a ferocious zapping sound filled the air. It was almost loud enough to drown out the ring’s shouting. More wayward bolts shot out in random directions, crashing against anything unfortunate enough to be in their way. Supergirl’s vision began to clear, her grip weakened and her heart slowed. The booming reducing to pounding. The wings of energy around the World Killer began to expand. Shades of red made their way into the teeming blue energy. Supergirl was being drained as if her life itself was being sucked away from her.

She had been here before, helpless in the hands of a World Killer. Her mind wandered back to the fateful day that started all this. She had been unprepared, exhausted and seen those around her suffer for her own mistakes. Powerless to stop the spiralling events that led her to this moment. The World Killers played every part in her pain. Her heart boomed louder, the pulse filled her with renewed energy. For her, there had been no justice. She had tried to do everything right, made every hard decision and the universe decided to punish her for it. Another boom, this time accompanied by a chorus of shouts. It spurned her on, gave her control. Her prey’s expression fell from victory to worry, those white eyes filling with confusion as the red sparks began to turn on her. Now she had the power to make this right, to spit in the face of her hardships and come out on top. The rage re-asserted itself. Her heart exploded to life and smile emerged on her face. A simple thought ripped through the noise and energy.

“It’s my turn,” she said. With simple shake of the wrist she was free from the World Killer’s grip. The energy field shrunk and the wings waned. Supergirl grabbed both sides of her prey’s skull, she shook with anticipation and power. The World Killer clawed at her hands with her strange, long fingers to no avail. With another deep breath she closed her eyes and let the ring’s will pulse through her. She opened them again, allowing herself a moment to enjoy the World Killer’s fruitless attempts. The ring warmed to boiling point. The energy field was sucked into it and red bolts sparked through her victim’s entire body. She shook with the bolts, the amplified voice cutting in and out with her cries of pain. Supergirl savoured every moment, giving the creature exactly what she had wanted by overloading her with what the ring had to offer. She laughed to herself as the body went limp, the only movement being the twitches as the red bolts still sparked. She let go, letting the World Killer slip from her hands and to plummet below. Another rush of ecstasy pulsed through her, she began to question why she ever tried to push it away. She could sense that the energy creature was still alive, but as far as the ring was concerned any immediate threats had been dealt with. She hovered, unaware of her surroundings to merely enjoy the moment.

She eventually drifted down to ground level, having been caught up in the thrill of it all she was taken aback by what she saw. Two people were standing over the limp body of the World Killer. The respite and joy drained away in an instant, more people determined to interfer. A woman had stepped up to greet her, while a man was hunched over the body.

“Move,” she said.

“Supergirl, I thought you might have been a goner there. Are you alright?” it was Sam Arias. The white skin, the red hair, the black suit. She stared at the face of her sister’s attacker. She tried to remind herself that the woman in front of her was innocent, but the ring was hungering again.

“I’m not done with her,” she said.

“Take my word for it, you’ve finished the job,” Sam said. Supergirl glanced down at the robotic arm. A pang of guilt made its way through the noise, she cast it aside.

“She has to suffer, as I have suffered,” she said, staring down at the body. It still crackled away with blue energy, though was much more stable than it had been during the fight. Sam stood in the way, putting her hand out.

“Look, I understand as much as anyone…” Sam started. A flash of red, Supergirl jolted forward and grabbed Sam.

“You don’t understand a damn thing about me, this is your fault,” she said, bringing her in close, inches away from her face. Sam tried to reel back but she would not let her, feeling the fear and anguish projected from her face. There was a sudden loud inhalation as the energy creature’s body jolted back to some sort of consciousness.

“Where am I? What’s going on? I feel strange,” she said. Frantically trying to get up. Supergirl ad ignored the man hunched over her up to this point. He had stood back.

“Whoa, welcome back. Try and slow your breathing,” he was faced away but she knew the voice. Optic, Oddball, Monarch or whatever stupid name he wanted to conjure. Another flash of anger rushed through her and she flung Sam aside. The creature looked at her hand and her body convulsed violently.

“Spark is that you? Oh God, what have I become?” she said. She raised her arms, her hands shook when she looked at them.

“Remember what we talked about, nothing you can’t handle” he said. There was a familiarity to the unfolding scene, it stopped her in her tracks. The anger started to wash away.

“What’s going on, Spark? I’m so scared,” she said. She was bordering on hysterical, desperately trying to move but unable to do so. Optic took a deep breath and seemed to brace himself. Supergirl watched on, she was frozen to the spot as her heart’s booms slowed and calmed. Optic took her large, elongated hand in both of his. He jolted from it and the energy engulfed his body.

“Jo, look at me. I’m here. Focus on the sound of my voice. You are going to be okay,” he said. The creature’s white eyes met his, he repeated this mantra to her. Though his skin burned he held tight, Jo’s body calmed. The crackling energy reeled in and she calmed down. She breathed with him, it managed to ground her and stop the twitching. Supergirl stepped back, her shoulders slumped, her body felt heavy like her strength had been emptied. It reminded her so much of what Lena would do for her when she began to lose herself. She allowed herself to fall back. The exchange she watched between Optic and Jo was almost entrancing. All she could think of was Lena as her heart slowed to a regular pace, the beat was soft and the voice retreated to a hum. She was done, the hunger for vengeance was gone.


	36. Purpose

She was silent, in the middle of the smoking street. The energy from Jo’s body glittered amongst the dark and damaged tarmac.

“I’m scared, Spark,” Jo said, the strange amplification of her voice croaked with the words.

“I know. Rest now, I’ll make sure you’re looked after” Optic said. He pulled his hand away. His skin was blistered and charred from holding her hand.

Supergirl was still sat there, she tried to process everything that had just happened. Another loss of control was weighing on her. All she could bring herself to do was watch Optic calm down her former opponent. Memories of similar scenes of her own with Lena jumbled together in a scrambled mess. To her side she could see Sam lifting herself up and limping back toward the scene. She appeared to be injured and had some makeshift bandages covering both her shoulders.

“Is she okay?” Sam said, bending down to Optic’s level.

“She’s herself again,” he said. Sam gave him a small nod, before her attention turned to Supergirl. Sam approached, she watched her closely when she shuffled forward. She looked her up and down, the bulky pauldron and black combat gear did not match the soft expression on her face. Sam offered her a hand, the subtle whir of the robotic finger’s joints sounding off as she stretched them out. It was so similar to Alex’s. She stared at the offer with confusion, she had no idea what to think. Her thoughts flipped between resignation and aggression, the ring doing what it could to worm its way into her reasoning.

“You saved her, like you did me,” Sam said, hand still outstretched. Supergirl pushed the hand aside and got up under her own power. Both Optic and Sam held their ears and winced when a screeching static blasted out of their earpieces. A voice came back into focus, it was easy enough to eaves-drop with her heightened hearing.

“We have comms back, report.” It was J’onn’s voice. Sam took another moment to look at her, unease painted all over her face. Supergirl said nothing, her stifled mind only content to listen.

“Supergirl’s arrived on the scene. Flower of Heaven is with us, I think she’s herself again though. Like when it happened to me,” Sam replied, she eyed her as she talked.

“Understood. There were reports of illness or poison before we lost comms. Can you confirm?” He said.

“Yes, it was a side-effect of another World Killer. Currently unaccounted for,” she said. Her words were laboured and slurring ever so slightly.

“Well, from reports we’re getting in now, the cultists have either been contained or retreated. No further signs of trouble within the city limits. Next move is to regroup back at HQ, it worries me there’s still been no sign of the final World Killer,” he said.

“Well, this poison one still needs to be found too,” Sam said.

“What happened?” he said. Sam hesitated, Supergirl had no intention of alleviating the tension.

“Supergirl attacked, it’s unclear where the World Killer ended up,” he said.

“I don’t know what sort of gear you have for healing Kryptonians, but you better get it ready. Jo’s… Flower of Heaven’s in a bad way,” Optic butted in.

“I’ll come with you,” Supergirl said. Optic’s attention immediately broke from the conversation over comms.

“Like hell you will…” he said. He stood up with an ease that defied his electricity burns. He rolled his shoulders and clenched his fists. The charred skin and blistering that covered his hands vanished before her eyes. He strode toward her, all signs of damage had gone. A flare of heat came from the ring.

“You nearly killed her, just like you nearly killed Sam. And who knows what state Perrilus is in. You have no right to be anywhere near this,” he said.

“Spark, you don’t need to...” Sam wobbled when she spoke, Optic quickly caught her. Sam leaned on him to stay upright but insisted he not make a fuss. It had distracted them both.

“Krypton is my planet and my responsibility. Also, if you haven’t noticed I’ve been the only one stopping the World Killers,” she said. From what the ring could sense and his general demeanour, his reaction was tempered by his split attention.

“Your planet? Typical,” he said. Some of her strength returned, the ring sparked and she squared up to him.

“What exactly is that supposed to mean?” she said through gritted teeth. He looked back Jo resting behind him and shifted his weight to support Sam better. He shot her an intense look and after a moment pointed at the symbol on her chest.

“It’s exactly the arrogant attitude I should expect from The House of El,” he said. She pushed back at the instinct to grab and crush his hand.

“How do you know that name?” She said.

“All Kryptonians knew that name,” he said.

“You’re a…”

“Yes.” He interrupted. “And your house is responsible for all of this, so don’t tell me that you’re part of the solution.” She wanted to be angry, the ring wanted to match his rage in-kind. Instead she found herself distracted by the accusation. She looked to the floor, then Sam, who was now woozily trying to interject. Some words started to come through the earpiece, the open comm clearly wanting some clarity on this conversation. Spark pulled out his earpiece and chucked it aside.

“That doesn’t make sense. I checked,” Supergirl said.

“Checked?” he said, his tone shifted quickly. The ring died down as his remaining anger faded to the new distraction.

“A database from Krypton was left for me. It had nothing on the World Killers,” she said. He stopped to deliberate.

“Where is this database?” He said

“Why would I trust you with that?” She said. Optic stopped and thought for a moment, he turned to Sam.

“Can I borrow that earpiece of yours.” Her speech was mumbling and unclear, her eyes drooped so she instead she opted to slowly nod. “Hey, stay with me. We’re going to get some answers soon.” He said as he carefully brushed her hair aside to take the earpiece.

“Is there a Krpytonian database at the D.E.O. I can access,” he said into it.

“Yes, but it’s only accessible to Supergirl,” J’onn said. She sneered, Optic had somehow wrangled himself into a figure with some sort of authority. She knew she was missing context, Sam had not batted an eyelid at the revelation of his healing and heritage. It still did not sit right with her at all.

“We’re coming in. The intel on the World Killers we need will be right there,” he said.

“There’s no way you can know that. I told you I already tried,” she said.

“Let’s just say I have a theory,” he said.

“Understood, leave Flower of Heaven. We’ll send a containment team.” J’onn said. The ring gleefully pulsed as it sensed flare of anger from Optic.

“I’m not leaving her to your flunkies. She’s coming with us,” he said.

“We can’t risk bringing her to the HQ with her power-draining abilities,” J’onn said.

“She needs help, your human medics are going to be useless here,” he said. Sam appeared to perk up slightly, leaning in to speak. Optic held the earpiece closer to her.

“Let Superman look after her. He has somewhere safe for her,” she said. His expression hardened, he looked over at the Symbol on Supergirl’s chest. That House of El symbol weaved into the Red Lantern glowing at him.

“I trust him, Spark. Not just with her life, but my own too,” Sam said. Though still hesitant, Optic’s expression dropped. There was a sadness to him as he looked at the resting body of Jo again. The long, strange figure outstretched before them. He gave Sam a small nod.

“Alright, now let’s get you sat down,” he said. He helped her down carefully and sat near Jo. Supergirl was lost on what to think or how to approach the situation. Even the hum of the ring did little to bring any clarity to her racing mind.

“Is that alright, J’onn? Superman can pick up Flower of Heaven, the three of us will return to HQ,” Sam said.

“I’d rather not send Superman away from the city,” J’onn said.

“I don’t think you have a choice,” Sam said, looking at Optic’s steely expression. A heavy sigh was garbled through the earpiece.

“Fine, but if circumstances change I’m pulling him back in,” the line cut off.

The silence lingered. She watched Optic sit silently beside Jo’s now unconscious body. There was still an underlying anger she could sense from him, it was rare to pick up such strong emotion from him. She approached him slowly.

“May I have the earpiece” she said. He seemed hesitant, it took a nudge from Sam to get him to hand it over. She stepped away

“What’s going on here?” Supergirl said, doing what she could to keep any edge out of her voice.

“Supergirl, is that you?” It was Lena’s voice.

She found herself cooling off and finding a clearer line of thinking come to her. She took a breath.

“I feel like I’ve missed so much. That friend of yours and Sam are out here talking about Krypton and World Killers,” she said.

“A lot has happened very quickly. Those two were sent out as their knowledge and World Killer status could help calm the cult in a more peaceful manner,” Lena said. It was still difficult to get her head around what was being said.

“Optic’s a World Killer?” she said. The ring flared up, all this time he had been close to Lena and he was one of the threats she was looking for. That lingering doubt she had about him all seemed to make sense now. She clasped her ring in an attempt to stop herself getting riled. The ring wanted to awaken again, its insatiable nature poked at her will.

“In a way, we had to move quickly so there are still gaps in what we know,” she said.

“And you trusted him?” She said.

“It’s hard to explain. He was going to tell us more before reports of violence out in the city came to us. I don’t think he’s a threat,” Lena said. Optic was still watching Jo, he was easily in earshot but either was too distracted or did not care that he was being talked about. Whatever rage was left fluttered away. She had revealed her own nature to Lena after much longer than he had, hearing her voice reminded her that Lena only had kind words to say. That moment she had told her she was Supergirl there was nothing but understanding from her. It had been a moment of respite from even the ring. She was conflicted on whether Optic deserve that same kindness. She tried not to think about whether she deserved that kindness in the first place, the doubt wanted to linger.

Superman’s arrival graciously interrupted the train of thought. A protective Optic was still reluctant but was reassured by both Kal and Sam that it would be okay. They watched him fly off, Jo’s long limbs dangling down from Superman’s grip.

“Well, I guess it’s time for answers,” Optic said.

Sam recovered a fair amount on the journey over and was becoming more alert. Before long she was moving under her own power again. There were a lot of D.E.O. dispersed amongst the city helping with relief and doing what it could to restore some form of normality or reassurance. The ring was doing what it could to scratch at her in the presence of Optic and Sam. She shot ahead as to not give it the chance to lash out at them so ended up arriving first.

It was strange to be back at the D.E.O., it was familiar and so different at the same time. The set-up had not changed, the shining open space, blinking panels and screens. Alex, J’onn and Lena were standing at the centre table discussing something. Their chatter faded into the lively scenes of the headquarters, busy agents and constant analysis going on around her. She let them all get on with her work while she re-acquainted herself with the surroundings. There was no nostalgia for this place, it was cold and sterile. The workings of the machine that had chewed her up and spat her out. The arrival of the new Green Lantern did little to quell her annoyance, he shot a suspicious side-glance at her before reporting in to J’onn. The business of the room became more routine as the minutes ticked by. She spotted Lena glance over at her a few times, but apart from that the room seemed content to ignore her. Sam and Optic finally emerged through the archway, he strode right up to the central desk. Supergirl moved, keeping close by.

“We’ve got two World Killers M.I.A. Supergirl, Sam and I are going to that House of El database to fill in the final missing pieces,”

“I already told you it has nothing of use,” Supergirl said.

“Then prove me wrong,” he said.

“I don’t recall putting either of you in charge,” J’onn said.

“You need this. It won’t work without me and Supergirl. Sam should come along because she deserves to know. Anyone else is optional. Now let’s get this mess dealt with,” he said. She looked to Lena, who mouthed “are you sure?” To her. She gave a subtle nod back and Lena moved to her side. J’onn rubbed the bridge of his nose, his impatience was obvious to the entire room.

“Agent Danvers, go with them. I have more to discuss with Fletcher,” J’onn said. Alex looked at her uneasily but looked to be obeying the order. J’onn’s eyes followed her round the table before he seemed to notice something. “Ms. Arias, what are those green spikes on your belt?”

“Oh, I broke these spikes off Perrilus. I was concerned they had something to do with the poison, I got a bit distracted, sorry. They don’t seem to be doing any harm though,” she said. J’onn nodded lazily, it appeared he was done with the whole situation. The little group snaked through the D.E.O., with a small detour to the labs to contain the spikes they ended up in that familiar chamber.

“I don’t know why we’re here, nothing will come of this,” Supergirl said. A hand gently rested on her shoulder, it was Lena’s.

“The missing World Killers are Perrilus and Deimax. Anything on them would be most useful,” Alex said.

“I’m telling you, this is a waste of time,” Supergirl said. She activated it, the figure of her mother materialised in front of them. She listed off the appropriate words.

“World Killers,” she said.

“No information available.”

“Perrilus,” she said.

“No information available.”

“Deimax,” she said.

“No information available.”

“See, now can we please stop wasting our time with this liar,” she said. The rest of the room looked at him with various states of worry and bemusement, he was unphased. He took a step forward.

“World Killers,” he said.

“Voice I.D. recognised. Scanning.” Supergirl was taken aback as a male voice came from the machine and her mother’s image dissipated. Her heart stopped as a new image began to materialise, the ring picked up a whole new level of anger from Optic. She turned to him. His arms were folded, his gaze was focused. His nostrils flared as the projectors reformed their beams and a new figure stood as the centre of the room. He wore a robe with a large House of El symbol on the centre of the chest. His hair and beard were well kept and slightly greyed. Supergirl looked on in confusion as the image of her father looked back at her.

“Much older, but there’s Zor-El, the bastard responsible for all of this,” Optic said. The projectors settled themselves, the hologram sprung to some form of life.

“If you’re hearing this message then despite the complications, my scout managed to find you and you brought him to this. Something went wrong, I tried to establish contact with the scout numerous times, but nothing has come through. He hasn’t responded to the beacons and drones I scattered across Earth for him over the years, but you can trust him.

My life’s work, my creations. They start with him. Krypton is doomed but I had to preserve my legacy… Krypton’s Legacy. I ran out of time, they won’ be perfect but if by some miracle any part of Kryptonian society survived then some form of the World Killer programme is in place to forge their new home. I’ve included my records and logs, hopefully they may shed some light on the situation. I trust you to work with the Catalyst to make things right and keep my vision alive. Provide for Krypton.” The message came to a halt, the room was silent as the image of her father flickered at them.

“I don’t understand,” she said quietly. Lena’s grip tightened, she took her hand.

“Processing” the voice echoed around the room. Another significant flicker of the projectors produced a much younger-looking image of him. This image was much less static and he appeared to be sitting.

“The council insisted I keep extensive records, they say if something should happen to me then someone else could continue my work. Seems rather counterproductive for a secret project, but they’re the ones who provide the funding.” The image of her father adjusted in the seat. He straightened out his robe and cleared his throat.

“Log one: A planet was recently discovered, its habitat is ideal for Kryptonians. Preliminary research for colonisation has been approved by the council. Unfortunately, there’s already a local population in the way. They call it Earth, they’re primitive but the Guardians of the Universe would certainly stop any of the more traditional attempts of moving into their territory.

It means I have to do all this work in secret, luckily it appears the yellow sun’s radiation of that solar system has provided us a work around. A more covert take over is entirely possible using it. I believe I can create a small number of incredibly powerful individuals who can blend in and be activated at a whim, clearing a path and taking the planet before the Guardians even realise what’s happened. What’s the old saying? Easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.”

“No, that’s not the Krypton I know. We were peaceful, it was damn near paradise,” Supergirl said. said, doing her best not to squeeze Lena’s hand too tightly. Optic scoffed at her.

“You grew up amongst the House of El, practically a princess. Let’s just say your view of our world might have been a tad skewed.” He turned to address the image. “Catalyst.”

“Numerous logs found. Specify.” Her father replied, the mechanical nature of the database came across as far more ominous with his voice.

“Play the first log where Catalyst is mentioned,” Optic said. The image flickered again, showing her father standing with gloves on an getting on with busywork as he spoke.

“Log Five: The possibilities with the yellow sun are endless. I was almost spoilt for choice for selecting an effective method for activation of the World Killers.

I’ve settled on utilising the first World Killer. I’ve already drawn up designs for it to gather information. May as well package in the ability to home in on them and activate their programming. Keeping them dormant until they’re ready will let me pass them off as locals to Earth far more easily. While the World Killer’s genetics will be changed at such a level that they’ll barely register as Kryptonian, may as well the take the precaution to mask them from any scans, especially if any Green Lanterns stumble across my work.

An effective catalyst to be sure, though free will will be an issue. Hand someone the switch to take over a world and there’s no telling what might come of it. Again, the yellow radiation comes to my aid. With a little genetic engineering it’s as easy to alter the mind as it is the body. Once I’ve finalised my methods and details on the others. I can simply pack it all into his genetics and have him ready to lie in wait. With the right coding the Catalyst will be drawn to anyone or anything I send to Earth. I can send this Catalyst down as early as I like. The longer its own their the more it will get on Earth’s defences, weaknesses and leaders after all. I can easily update its knowledge and genetic coding of the other World Killers as I complete them.

This of course is all currently theory. I’ll need subjects soon, I’m sure they won’t be hard to find.”

“Convinced?” He said. Supergirl was silent, fuming at the image of her father. Lena’s voice steadied the tension.

“That does match up with our findings and what he told us. What I don’t understand is why you’re the way you are. The temperamental nature of the other four makes sense, it sounds like he was forced to send them off before they were complete. But you were sent here long before they were, probably before Krpyton even had an inkling of its own demise, you wouldn’t have been rushed,” she said.

“You heard him, he mentioned a need for subjects. He found one in me. I was naïve back then, just some idiot on the street that skated in-between guild lines. Krypton was harsh outside the upper echelons, but I always found a way to blag my way through. I should have known that some House of El big shot taking an interest in my particular skillset was too good to be true. I was promised a roof over my head and a place amongst the elite.

Of course, the moment I got to that house he kept me in I realised it was a prison. I don’t know if it was the secretive nature or just plain arrogance that had this workshop devoid of security personnel when he was gone. Nothing to complain about, he hadn’t even noticed I’d swipe the occasional piece of material or tool when he let me out to do his poking and prodding. The cell I was kept in in his absence was easy to crack with the right combination of scraps. So, I had a free run of the place as long as I made sure I was in that cell when he came back,”

“Why didn’t you just run?” Alex said.

“This was the House of El, with their power and resources they would have found me again within a week or replaced me with some other poor sap. So I stayed. Zor-El kept his logs and extensive notes in that little workshop of his. I studied them, it’s not like I had anything else to do. I’m no scientist so I could only grasp the absolute basic aspects of his work, but it was enough. I tweaked readings, recalibrated his tools and messed with his data enough to let him believe his work was going as intended whenever he tinkered with me,” Optic said.

“He was altering your body and mind… you decide to meddle with that? You could have died,” Lena said.

“You heard him, his plan was to wipe my mind and replace it with subservient programming. I’d have been a husk, gathering information blindly and following whatever signals he deemed fit to end some innocent world. To me that was a fate worse than death, so I took my chances. It made for a simple escape plan too, he already intended to rocket me off to a distant planet. All I had to ensure was that my mind was still my own when that happened.” He paused for breath and looked away from the flickering image of Zor-El.

“Studying notes, making those tweaks, a little bit of acting and a lot of luck, turns out the plan worked. I walked out of that pod my own man, free of Krpyton’s influence,” Optic said. His retelling of this story was flat and factual, not his usual upbeat or smug demeanour. She could only look on at the image of her father, her memories of the kind man she knew was broken before her eyes.

“That might be another reason why the other World Killer’s programming was so shaky. If Zor-El used you as a template for the other World Killers, then the original data he would have worked with and improved upon for his other projects would have been wrong from the start. He had to work around unknown mistakes, it could be the cause of the delayed changes to Sam or why it was stress that eventually triggered the changes,” Lena said.

“That’s neither here nor there. This has been a wonderful show and tell, but it isn’t what we’re here for,” He cleared his throat and spoke at the image.

“Creation of Perrilus.”

“Processing” More flickers and a new pose for Zor-El, he seemed to make most of these logs whilst he was still working away at some experiments

“Log forty-three: I’ve decided to name the World Killer for population control “Perrilus.” The biological nature of the attacks makes creation tricky. I’ve thrown out the idea of contagious disease amongst Earth’s population, too much of a risk of over-effectiveness. We may want some left after all, they could prove useful. An airborne type virus that Perrilus can spread seems to be in order. I intend for it to be proximity-based, if I can make it rapidly dissipate once outside of a certain radius then we can remove any unwanted locals city by city, instead of accidentally wiping out the entire populace at once.”

“That tracks, when Sam took her high into the sky the humans recovered quickly,” Optic said. He carried on. “Creation of Deimax.”

“Log twenty-two: I originally thought strength alone would have to be the method for land clearance and toppling any unwanted settlements. A boring job for Reign once their dominance has been asserted over the planet, woefully inefficient. I had a breakthrough though, I can splice a creature that can nudge tectonic activity along with other geological control. Summon mountains, flatten terrain, even cause earthquakes devastating enough to level human settlements within hours. Deimax, seems a good a name as any. They’ll be quite the demolition and construction tool.”

“Well, Deimax sounds dangerous,” he said.

“That just leaves The Flower of Heaven’s purpose,” Sam said.

“Probably to stop us fighting back, without power we’d be totally defenceless,” Alex chimed in.

“Is this all I am, a weapon?” Sam said, it is was the first time she had spoken. Optic turned, the anger the ring sensed from him faded. Replaced only by her own as she glared at the static image of her father.

“You were supposed to be, but you’re not. You’re so much more than that,” he said. Sam still looked conflicted.

“If you have any other questions, now’s the time,” he said to her.

“No, you have what you need and the other World Killers need stopping. Everyone out,” Supergirl said, she still had not looked away from the image of Zor-El. It was hard to push away the rage, everything she knew about her home had been upended. The rest of the room gawking at her did not help.

“I said get out. I need to be alone,” she said. Alex was quick to come to her aid.

“Yes, we can find Perrilus by monitoring 911 calls for sudden violent illness within a certain area. Deimax with seismic activity that doesn’t make sense. Come on, back to the command centre,” Alex was ushering everyone out. She did not watch them, unable to look away from her father. She stumbled back when she heard the door close, her heart ached as she tried to stop herself losing control. Her back hit the wall lightly, she slid down until she was sat. She hugged her knees, the flickering image of her father fuelling her anger with each passing moment.

Her sight-line was broken by someone walking around her. Lena sat herself next to her and put her arm around her.

“I said I wanted to be alone,” Supergirl said.

“I know you did,” Lena said.


	37. Understanding

They were alone, that projection of her father stared blankly at where she had stood. She wanted nothing more than to be angry and lash out but could not bring herself to do it. There was a numbness where the burning rage should have been. She squeezed her legs in tighter and rubbed her eyes. She had been so adamant that Krypton was guiltless in its war with Daxam. Having heard what Krypton was capable of and willing to do, it was probably all lies. Worse, they were lies revealed by someone she had so readily accused of being a liar himself. Optic having credibility on his side stung as much as the truth itself, it left little room for doubt.

Lena had not said anything, she left her arm around her and was looking at the projection. She knew Lena was thinking away behind her sympathetic expression. She had new facts to pour over and theories to form. She wanted to enjoy the silence, though the niggling doubts kept her from finding comfort. It was hard to tell whether it was the ring playing tricks or just plain old Kara not knowing how to react.

“Why are you still here?” Kara said.

“I’ve been where you are. I could see it on your face, the confusion, the betrayal. Zor-El was family, wasn’t he?” Lena asked.

“My father,” she said. Lena nodded.

“When I had family issues, I thought I wanted to be alone too. I’ll respect your wishes if you really want me to leave,” she said. Kara said nothing, she leaned into her, her head rested on Lena’s shoulder.

“I found it so easy to blame myself, I spiralled into something I didn’t want to be because of it. I thought I needed to be hard and cold to not let it get to me,” Lena said.

“So, what do I do?” she said.

“Whenever I was at my lowest, someone I know always told me that it was okay just to be me. To believe I was better than my name. It was good advice,” Lena said. Kara’s face felt strange for a moment. It was only the briefest of smiles. She was so different back then, just the right combination of naïve and a lack of burdens. She was uncertain if that was someone she could be again. Despite everything, there was comfort to be found in Lena’s presence. Problem after problem was piling up and she just had to let some of it go.

“I need to keep the ring, even after the World Killers are dealt with,” she said. Lena cocked her head, her expression dropped for only a moment as she looked into her eyes.

“I trust you,” Lena said, she hugged her tighter when she spoke.

“There’s something big going on with the other Lanterns, I don’t think I can run from it,” she said.

“I’ve never known you to run from doing the right thing,” Lena said.

“Or maybe I’m just like my dad, telling myself it’s for the greater good when all I’m doing is justifying myself desperately clinging on to power,” she said.

“I can’t speak for you, but I know that you aren’t him. Even questioning your own motives shows compassion, strong enough to blaze through that ring of yours,” Lena said. Kara pulled away slightly.

“How do you do it, stay so relentlessly positive in the face of it all?” she said. Lena gave her a warm smile.

“That person I mentioned, I learned it from her.” Kara shifted, the ring’s hum was still trying to burn its way into her thoughts.

“Your brother. Your mother. Does the guilt ever go away?” She said. Lena broke eye contact, she gazed over at the flickering image.

“I like to think I’m a logical person. That I can tell myself that my actions differ from theirs and that’s the end of it,” Lena’s smile faded. “It doesn’t work very often. Even if I could get over it myself, there’s always something or someone reminding me of my family’s legacy.”

“Does it at least get easier?” Kara said.

“It varies. I know it’ll never truly go away for me. I let it motivate me, the more good I do and people I help, the more I can at least try to push back against it. I keep doing the next best thing and can find solace in doing as much as I can for those around me,” Lena said.

“Well, you seem to have made a habit in supporting secret Kryptonians,” she said. Lena beamed at her.

“What?” Kara said.

“I think that’s the first joke you’ve made since you got the ring.” She let go of her, stood up and offered her hand. Kara stumbled slightly when she took it, a light-headedness faded when a crescendo of her heartbeats pumped around her body. The hissing hum of the ring became the white noise once more.

“Well, the next best thing is to finish this World Killer business,” Kara said. She went to switch off the image but stopped herself. “With all this extra Krypton information they have about me. You don’t think that’ll clue Sam or Oddball into my identity.” Lena sucked air through her teeth.

“What is it?” Kara asked,

“He already knows,” she said.

“He what?” Kara said.

“He worked it out.” Lena looked sheepish, a few shouts pierced through the white noise. “Being honest, I think he clocked it the moment he met you. It’s part of the reason I’ve been so lenient with him. If he truly had a malicious agenda he could have easily kept both of us busy or distracted with one anonymous phone call, instead he chose to keep your secret. I should have told you sooner, there was just a lot going on.” Though her heart boomed louder, she was unable to be angry at her. She switched off the database, her father’s face broke away into nothing.

“There’s work to be done,” Kara said. She held the door open for Lena.

“If you want to talk, any time, any place. Let me know,” Lena said. She nodded at her and watched her go by.

They snaked their way back through the corridors to the main control room. J’onn was still commanding the lively room with the new Green Lantern was breathing down his neck. The fallout of the Daxam incident was still going strong as everything he did was watched and quietly scrutinized by the Lantern’s presence. Oddball and Alex’s faces were lit up by some screens on the far side of the space, from what she could see Alex was advising agents with Oddball being a far less intrusive onlooker than the Green Lantern. Lena hurried over to him and pulled him aside. Kara stayed put to watch and listen to the scenes unfold.

“She knows you know, don’t be a dick about it if you talk to her,” Lena said to him.

“She’s probably listening,” he said, he glanced her way from across the room.

“I don’t care, be nice to her or you’ll have me to answer to,” Lena said. He responded with a non-committal grunt.

“That’s not a yes,” she said.

“You’re right, it isn’t,” he said.

“You know damn well she doesn’t deserve this attitude of yours, so I’m not going to explain myself,” she said. He glanced over at her again and pouted.

“I’ll try,” he said.

“Good, now where’s Sam?” She asked.

“Infirmary, her brawl with Perrilus did a number on her. Glad you managed to make use of that Nth metal so damn quickly, someone that brave needs all the defence they can get,” he said.

“Is she going to be okay?” she said.

“Yeah, just needs a looking at and some rest. Zor-El managed to make us a durable bunch,” he said.

“I’d still like to keep working on the shield, more Nth metal wouldn’t go amiss” she said.

“My source is usually pretty busy,” he said.

“You can ask him when he’s done with J’onn,” she said. His head cocked and he looked taken aback. Lena moved off before he could respond. After his moment of mild shock, he shook his head and that wry grin of his rose.

“Well played,” he said quietly, he returned to what he was doing.

Time flew on by, she stayed mostly still to let the room work around her. She thought back to when she was young. The orange skies of Krypton would glow and the cool spring breeze would flow through her room window. Growing up in paradise with her family had been something she held close. All those times she played with her dad, or when she would rush to greet him and excitably tell him about her day. She had asked him what he did on several occasions throughout her childhood. It was usually the same answer. A scientist with research that was for the good of Krypton, highly valued by the council and so very important. Many of those times when he came back and hugged her he must have come back from that secret lab of his. He created monsters from innocents, then would come home and act like it was just a normal day at work. Maybe to him it was. Her eyes followed Optic around the room, she was afraid to know more. There were so many more memories of her home and family that he could taint. She looked down at the symbol on her chest, pulling the material and stretching out the House of El symbol sitting comfortably within the Red Lantern corps pattern. It was supposed to mean hope, to most it probably still did. She would have to break the news to Kal at some point. She rubbed her face and forced her gaze away from Optic, it was so much easier when he was a liar. She caught Lena looking at her when she scanned the room, Lena did not flinch or turn away. She simply smiled at her again, the warmth of it helped settle her.

“I think we’ve got something,” Alex announced. Supergirl paid as much attention as she could through the memories. A map of the country appeared on the main viewscreen and an area lit up, zooming in gradually. “Reports of sudden and mysterious illness with matching symptoms to Perrilus’ presence are coming from the outskirts of Gotham. The timing matches up and it seems limited to a specific area.”

“Gotham? That’s the other side of the country,” Lena said.

“You didn’t see how hard Supergirl hit her,” Optic said. J’onn pushed through the commentary.

“Contact the Gotham D.E.O. and send them what we have. Recommend as many bio-protections as possible and to prep to evacuate the area,” J’onn said to the room, he then turned to her. “Supergirl this one is yours.”

“She shouldn’t go alone,” the Green Lantern said, stepping forward.

“The only people I know that are safe to approach her are Kryptonians, if she breaks your shielding you’re more hinderance than help,” he said.

“I’m with greenie, she can’t be trusted alone with Perrilus,” Optic said.

“Ms. Arias is injured and Superman is indisposed, per your request I might remind you. I’m not risking any non-Kryptonians. She can handle this herself,” J’onn said.

“Then I’ll go,” Optic said. J’onn looked at the screen and thought for a moment.

“Supergirl, he’s with you,” he said.

“You can’t be serious?” she said.

“To get consistent reports this quickly, Perrilus must be staying in one place. That says to me she’s either injured or not looking for a fight. His knowledge might be useful to calm her down, you can get him there quickly and should action need to be taken against him you’ll be on hand,” he said. She looked over at Optic, his arms were folded. He was somehow huffier than she was.

“Look, I’m hardly enthused about this pairing either, but he’s right,” he said. She sneered at him, of course she had to work with the absolute last person she wanted to see. The ring sent a strange shiver through her, it was as if it found a way to laugh at her. She looked over to Lena, a shrug and half-smile was all she got in return. There was no time to protest, Lena’s trust in him and J’onn’s judgement would have to be enough.

“We’ve also found irregular seismic activity, minor but the epicentres are moving in a pattern east away from National city, nothing definite yet but needs checking,” Alex said.

“I’m on it,” the Green lantern said.

“You have your assignments, we’ll keep monitoring from here and update you as and when we get new information,” J’onn said, he handed her an earpiece.

“Let’s get this over with,” Supergirl said to herself, checking the map again before picking up Optic and shooting off.


	38. Cleanse

Time had ticked away, the actions of the day and the change in time-zones saw the sun setting at a rapid pace. The flight was slow, she no longer cared for the air that rushed by her. She found herself craving the burn of her full speed, she would already be at Gotham if it were not for Optic. He seemed content to be held under the arms and to dangle down. Though it was slow for her, it was the fasted she had gone with a passenger. It was partially due to the urgency of the matter but despite thinking better of it, she also wanted to make Optic uncomfortable. Unfortunately, it was not the case. There was no hint of trembling and he had been quiet for this first leg of the journey. Though she could not see his face, it was easy to tell from his slightly folded arms and his chin stroking that he was in deep thought. It was only a matter of time before he shared these thoughts.

The flickering images of her father’s logs refused to leave her thoughts. The man she was carrying had every reason to hate her, yet he had stayed on the fringes and Lena still treated him as a friend despite his deception. The ring had never picked up any desire for revenge or a significant amount of anger from him at all until this World Killer problem had truly come to a head. She could hardly believe it herself, but she found herself wanting to break this silence between them. The unanswered questions swirling around her head would stay that way otherwise.

“Why didn’t you just ask me about the House of El when you first met me?” she said. He shifted in her arms, he tried to look up at her from his dangling position with limited success.

“Putting aside the fact that revealing my connection to the World Killers would have been its own can of worms, I didn’t know I could trust you,” he said. She scoffed.

“You talking about trust? That’s rich.” She said.

“The House of El might have been your friends or family or whatever, but my experience of them was Zor-El. The wannabe war-criminal with a knack for unethical experiments. You wore that symbol so I couldn’t take the chance. The only reason we went through that song and dance with the database at all is because time is a factor now. I’d rather have kept you far away from this,” he said, projecting his voice through the rushing air with ease. She found herself slowing, slightly. A brief, painful pang stung her chest.

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry for what my father did. If I had known I would have done something about it,” she said. She had expected some sort of cutting remark or blame, instead he opted to stay silent for a moment.

“Sorry or not, the “doing something” you’ve gone for nearly killed Sam and Jo. I think it’ll be a minor miracle if Perrilus is still alive. This is exactly why I wanted to sort it out without interference,” he said. She sped up again, a small pulse from the ring washed away the pang in her chest.

“Oh, get off your damn high horse. Reign was killing people while you were still hanging around in bars. You act like direct action is the worst possible approach but if I left everything to you the World Killers would be taking over the planet unhindered. Time was always a factor, you were just too selfish to notice,” she said.

“I’m trying to protect the people the World Killers once were. None of this is their fault,” he said. She thought of the Daxamites that had died at her hands. They had been lied to, they genuinely thought Mon-El had been taken against his will and followed the commands of a mad Queen. It was not an exact parallel as those soldiers could have refused to fire on civilians whereas the World Killers had no choice in the matter. Despite that key difference she could not help but think of Kal and his most irritating platitude.

“There’s always another way,” she growled under her breath. Their conversation was interrupted as the earpiece crackled to life.

“J’onn and Alex are overseeing other matters. I’ll be taking point on this one. I’m tracking you via the earpieces, you’re nearing the area flagged by the emergency calls.” It was Lena’s voice.

“Understood, I’ll take a high vantage point and start searching,” Supergirl said. She looked down to address her dangling passenger “I can drop you off an come back for you, it’ll be faster.”

“I’m not leaving you alone with Perrilus. Besides, my eyes and ears work just as well as yours,” he said. She was in no mood to argue so zipped forward to start the search, again disappointed by how unphased Optic was by the increase is speed. The sub-urban area was quite rural, it was very much on the outskirts of Gotham. The towering cityscape well off on the distant horizon. She could hear coughing and spluttering when she began to focus.

“I assume you hear that too,” Optic said.

“Lena, we have people caught in Perrilus’ area of effect,” she said.

“Find her first, from there you can gauge a safe distance, get people out and let the New York D.E.O. handle the perimeter. We don’t have much of an idea on effective radius so any further information you can pass on will help,” Lena said.

“You can drop me off with Perrilus, I’ll try and talk some sense into her if she’s conscious” Optic said.

“You didn’t know her beforehand, there’s no guarantee she won’t attack you,” Lena said.

“It’s a risk we have to take,” he said. There was nothing but quiet static over the line as Lena let his words sit. The ring heated up, it refused to stay satisfied for long and was worming its way back to the surface.

“This man’s purpose is to assist and activate the World Killers,” Supergirl said.

“If he wanted to cause trouble he could have done so already,” Lena said.

“This is the first World Killer he’ll get to without any hint of the counterpart, he’s not been in this position yet,” she said, she struggled to stop her voice from raising.

“I’m not asking you to trust him, I’m asking you to trust me,” Lena said. As soon as it had started to pipe up, the ring simmered down. The tension she had in her shoulders drifted away, her grip loosened slightly. It caused Optic to slip.

“Woah, watch it. I can’t fly you know,” he said, he flailed and tried to grab hold of her hands from his awkward angle.

“Sorry,” she said as she reaffirmed her grip on him.

“I know you don’t mean it, but I’ll take it,” he said.

She scanned the area and tried to let her senses from the ring guide her. Optic had gone quiet again, presumably also doing what he could to spot their target. She drifted forward and looked over the fields, gardens and houses below. Fortunately, the area did not seem highly populated. The sickening wrenches barely registered, she ignored them with ease as the static hum of the ring was determined to be heard. The pressure of it all weighed on her, the longer spent searching the less time she had to evacuate the area.

“Lena, I don’t know if we have time for this,” she said.

“Be patient, stay calm and scan systematically. She might be on the move and we can’t proceed without intel,” Lena said. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She navigated the array of sound the area had to offer. The distant sound of hands and feet scratched away at the floor from all sides. Desperate people confused by their sudden illness scrambled with any means to try and save themselves. It was somehow more disturbing to only hear these struggles without any faces to match them to. Her breath slowed, she could sense the ring as it pushed one of the many struggling voices through the wash of sound. She drifted toward it, someone was struggling to breath but this was different. There was no gasping or a frantic scramble surrounding it, it was simply slow and shallow with a laboured moan with each inhalation. She sped up, even with her eyes closed she was drawn to it without issue. She was unsure how much time had truly passed, her eyes shot open as Optic’s voice broke through the breathing.

“There,” he said, pointing to groundward. There was a long streak of burned grass, littered with the shattered wood of garden fences and uprooted trees along the path. At the end of this scorched earth lay Perrilus. She was motionless save for the shallow movement of her chest, up and down with each difficult breath. She descended carefully, never taking her eyes off the World Killer. She remained still when they reached ground level. Optic immediately ran to her side and examined her. She loomed over her injured target, her blood began to boil as the unnerving urge to finish the job willed itself into her thinking. The urge heightened with each slow boom of her heart.

“I’ll leave you to it.” She knew it was only a matter of time before the ring’s agenda would be unbearable to resist. She began to back off, Optic intently stared at the grounded monster. He very tentatively and gently touched her side. There was a sharp inhalation, air rushed through Perrilus’ jagged teeth.

“Most of her bones are severely broken. Her ribcage has pierced her lungs,” he said. He leaned over Perrilus.

“It’s going to be okay, lie as still as you can an keep your breathing as shallow as possible.” There was a sudden lurch from Perrilus. She spat out at Optic, who backed up and narrowly dodged the projectile. It landed behind him and fizzed into the ground. It bubbled to nothing quickly. Some severe coughing and attempts to clutch at her chest followed.

“I’d sooner die than listen to a human sympathiser,” she stuttered and forced her way through her sentence. Supergirl wanted to leave, each boom spurred on by Perrilus’ aggression.

“Wait,” Optic said in a hushed tone. He moved close, practically whispering. “Change her back, like you did with Jo and Sam.” She stepped back, meeting his intense stare.

“I can’t,” she said. His eyes narrowed, she could feel a sharp rage come from him with another boom of her heart. The ring pulsed like it was cheering him on.

“Can’t, or won’t?” He said.

“I don’t exactly know how it works, I can’t risk putting her through the pain I inflicted on the others when their minds were cleared,” she said. It was difficult to keep a reasonable tone, she sounded out each word carefully. The force of the ring’s will was building, like a vicious torrent of water against a failing dam.

“That’s bull. She will die if she doesn’t accept help, a death at her own hands instead of yours is no way to your keep conscience clear,” he said. She clenched her fist, her hand seethed as the ring bore itself into her boiling blood.

“Monarch, back down.” Lena’s voice cut through the overload of her senses ease.

“She…” he started.

“She’s telling the truth. You’re standing there because I heard you out, now you will hear me out. See that Perrilus doesn’t hurt herself. I’m cutting you off the channel for a moment. I’ll talk with Supergirl,” Lena said. The distain in his face was palpable, the ring flared as she saw the conflict in his mind. With no intensity lost, he stepped back. He had to rip his attention away from her, he chose to crouch down next to a restless Perrilus. Each boom of her heart roared, though it started to slow again. She cooled off and let her body relax as much as it could. The grass gently bristled against her boots. The air around her calmed and she brushed her behind her ear. She turned away from Perrilus at the setting sun and darkening sky.

“I don’t know how to save her, Lena,” she said.

“You didn’t know how to save Sam or Jo either. You managed that,” Lena said, her tone was soothing. Like a salve to the unending heat of the ring. Kara sighed.

“I didn’t mean to. It was an after-effect of my attacks. I’m not the hero you think I am,” she said.

“You’re better than you give yourself credit for. Don’t ignore what you did for them,” Lena said. The positivity she always threw her way could grow tiresome, doubt would be healthy when the ring was involved.

“You don’t understand, I had no intention of sparing them like that. I’ve just been lucky,” she said.

“It’s not luck. I’ve learned a little about the Red Lantern Rings. I was warned they always seek the extreme solution with little care for consequence or collateral. With you… Reign and Flower of Heaven may have died, but the people they were lived on. The ring chose to spare them,” Lena said.

“Even if that’s the case, it’s too intense for her now. The ring calls for blood to be satisfied, and I don’t think Perrilus can survive what it wants,” she said.

“For so long we’ve talked about fighting the ring, it’s hold over you and how to push it away. We’ve been looking at it as a one-way street. But it’s stuck with its resistant host much longer than it’s had any reason to. It may have its influence on your mind and body, but I think it’s learned from as you well. To hold back from the extremes, perhaps even to show some empathy. You’ve shown it your way, find this way here and now. No violence, just cleansing Perrilus from an innocent woman,” Lena said.

“Another way... it’s always a bloody other way. Why can’t the path ever be clear?” She said.

“Not another way, your way. It’s not the ring, House of El or Supergirl that saves people. Save her like you’ve saved so many others. Show the ring your greatest power, that hero that you’ve always been to me, the strength of Kara Danvers,” Lena said.

She looked back at Perrilus, though he was a couple of feet away Optic still watched over her closely. As she stepped forward there was another pulse from the ring, it was different. The heat was not searing and that strange weight that would come over her was not a burden. The peculiar sensations of them both seemed to combine. She almost shivered from the cool waves that circulated around her body. The boom of her heart was still with her, the ring’s hum droned on. As she considered Lena’s words further, she found herself steadied. The chaos of her mind subsided, if only a little. She crouched next to her, Perrilus struck out at her and wheezed from the ground. The hits that landed did nothing and were easily ignored.

She rubbed her hands together, the warmth passed between them. She concentrated on her ring and let its will come through to her. That yearning to eliminate Perrilus sounding out as shouts through the hum.

“My way,” she muttered under her breath. Her time before the ring, the conversations with Bleez about control, Lena’s voice, all these memories coalesced as she lay her hand on the restless World Killer. The warmth passed through her hand and a red glow engulfed Perrilus. The bared teeth hid away as Perrilus’ mouth closed. The lashing out slowed and fell away to nothing as the glow shone around her scaled boy. Optic quietly knelt the other side of her, he watched wordlessly as Perrilus became still and calm. After less than a minute she felt drained, she lifted her hand and sat back. The red glow gradually subsided, the brightness faded amongst the dusk-lit sky until only a hint of the red remained. The world was quiet, Optic looked at her inquisitively

The stillness was broken with a lurch and sharp inhalation from Perrilus.

“What’s going on? Where am I?” She winced in pain at her sudden movement.

“Stay as still as you can. I’m here to help,” Optic said. Her arm moved as if she wanted to hold her head, only to be reduced to shock as there was only a broken vine to greet her.

“What am I? I feel like I’m everywhere at once,” she said. She wheezed through the words. Though there was panic in her eyes, she remained mostly still. Without a hand to hold Optic gently placed a hand on her shoulder, it barely made contact but seemed to reassure the woman in some way.

“Watch your thoughts, allow them to sit and then let them go. Focus on me, reel that feeling of everywhere in and return to yourself,” He said. Her head slowly turned to meet his gaze, there was an understanding in her eyes.

“What’s your name?” He asked

“Beth,” she said.

“Beth. You can call me Spark, I’m here to help,” he said.


	39. Pressure

She watched Optic talk to the confused creature. His ability to shift his tone on a dime was always strange to see. A mere minute ago he was throwing accusations at her, the ring had revelled in his anger. Now there was nothing, his tone, body language and words all exuded compassion. The pained breaths of the former World Killer he was knelt beside had calmed. Beth had every right to be panicking, instead Optic seemed to have effortlessly placated her. As he continued it sounded like Beth’s feeling of being everywhere were her disease-like powers at work, that part of herself stretching out beyond her own body. Optic spoke as if he knew how to control it. He told her to focus and reel it in. She could only conclude he knew more than he let on or it was his talent for outright lying at work. Whichever it was, she was begrudgingly grateful for it. Supergirl reached for her earpiece.

“Perrilus is pacified… it worked,” she said.

“I’m proud of you, Kara,” Lena said. It was strange, the ring was relatively quiet. After a victory or moment of relief it would flood her with a euphoric, burning pain or weigh heavy on her. Instead, the ever-present hum did nothing more than louden slightly.

“Any word on the last World Killer?” She said, she wanted to distract herself from the ring’s unsettling passiveness.

“Perrilus will need to be fully contained,” Lena said.

“Her name is Beth, and she isn’t going anywhere,” Optic interrupted.

“Did you hear that?” Supergirl said.

“No, what’s going on?” Lena said.

“Optic’s being stubborn,” she said. He slowly stood up, his sight never broke from Beth. He pointed to her ear and outstretched his hand to Supergirl. She wearily obliged.

“She’s too injured to move, I’ll watch over her,” he spoke quietly.

“The nature of her powers are too dangerous to ignore,” she said.

“Then continue with the evacuation, she’s a light breeze away from dying. I’ll stay with her, keep her conscious as long as I can.” He looked up at the darkening sky. “Worst case scenario, her last moments shouldn’t be some D.E.O. goons chucking her in a containment unit.”

Even over the earpiece she could hear a distinct throat clear from Lena.

“Give the comm back to Supergirl,” she said. Optic glanced at her with a glum expression on his face. After a brief pause, he handed it to her. He returned to Beth and face the setting sun.

“Supergirl, do you think it’s safe?” Lena said. She watched him sit in the grass beside the former World-Killer. Her hard scales and sharp teeth glimmered with droplets from the damp ground. Without a hand to hold, Optic placed his hand gently on her shoulder.

“Are you there, Spark?” Beth said to him.

“I am, and I’m going to look after you,” he said.

“What’s going to happen to me?” she said.

“We’re going to get through this. Keep your eyes to the skies, the stars will be out soon,” he said.

The ring still hummed at her, it was still relatively dormant. Supergirl sighed. “It’s safe. Perrilus will need sunlight or something equivalent. Tell Superman, he might have something at the fortress,”

“You’re sure?” Lena said.

“Yes. Now what’s going on with the last World Killer,” she said. Lena seemed reluctant to heave dropped the subject so quickly.

“Deimax is in Yellowstone National Park. The Green Lantern is trying to keep things contained but I fear her skill set could wreak havoc if she isn’t stopped quickly,” Lena said.

“I’m on my way over, it’s time to end this,” she said. The pressure built in her feet, she took off at high velocity breaking the ground as she shot up. Despite her initial speed, she slowed down when she heard her name, it was below the breath. Optic’s voice was quiet and hard to make out past the ring’s hum.

“Supergirl, I know the threat the World Killers pose. Do what you must, but please try not to hurt them anymore,” he said.

She did not acknowledge him in any way, not to even a look back. She accelerated again, shooting away from the sunset in a flare of red energy. Tracking the earpiece on her and the Green Lantern, Lena gave her a more precise location in the park.

The earth raced below her, lights from the cities and countryside flickered at her ever so briefly. She thundered by them, eager to deal with the last remaining World Killer. The hum of the ring built up as she flew, it was as eager as she was. It pounded and pulsed on her finger, accentuated by her quickening heartbeat. Lena’s calming voice could only do so much to pacify this excitement.

The sky lightened on her flight to the west. As she closed in on her destination, she could hear a subtle rumbling. It grew stronger as she pressed forward. The low rumbling turned to a forceful shudder. She could see the ground shaking and felt the force of it even from her elevated position. The wildlife below was scrambling off, taking whatever respite it could find from the unknown force. Birds fluttered from bristling trees. She was closing in, the force of the quake increased in power as she went.

Following Lena’s direction, she quickly spotted a green glow in the distance and raced toward it. The shaking was even more violent here. The smaller trees were crashing down and even those with sturdier roots were struggling to hold their ground. The Lantern was flying at a quick pace, his constructs varying from form to form. A giant bucket scooped water from a lake to pour on some flaming trees. It transformed to a fan every now and then, blowing away the billowing smoke and blowing the fire back toward the direction it was going. The occasional green hand reached down to scoop up wildlife and place it at a safe distance. The air was hot from the fires and the of erupting geysers sounded off around her. The force of her entry was enough to catch the Lantern by surprise even amongst all the chaos.

“What are you doing, where’s the World Killer?” She said. With his brief lapse in concentration the fire spreading through the trees roared at them.

“I’m trying to contain the damage, that friend of yours is fighting the World Killer not far from here,” he had to shout to be heard over the rumbling. He carried on with his task.

“What friend?” She said. He flew back toward the lake, the ring emitting another large giant bucket, it scooped a huge swathe of water.

“The other Red Lantern I found you with, she’s keeping it distracted while I’m on damage control. I’ve got this for now but with the building pressure, things are going to get out of hand real fast if the World Killer isn’t stopped,”

“How did these fires even start?” she said. It was hard to focus on his response, the shaking landscape, eruptions, smoke and flame was a sensory overload.

“No time for talk, go,” he shouted. It was all she was going to get from him. The thick smoke was tickling her nose and gathered heavily in her throat and lungs. She blew out her freezing breath in an attempt to clear her airways and put out as much of the fire out as possible. It had never been quite as effective since the ring took hold of her. It’s heat and burning of her body taking away the chilling intensity. It did little to pacify the flame, but she could breathe easily again. She activated her shielding and rose high to the sky.

She immediately spotted red blasts sparking into what could only be described as a large monster of rock towering above the treeline. It reeled back slowly, each step it took had a shattering thud that rang through the quaking landscape. Even from the distance she could spot Bleez’ distinctive wings. Supergirl raced toward the fight, Bleez spun out of the way of a tree thrown at her. In the short moment it took to close in, blasts from Bleez’ ring chipped away at the rock monster’s form, her wings folded in to dive-bomb in with a follow-up attack. Bleez’ fist connected, cracking the chest of the strange humanoid rock-form. The monster was staggered by the hit, but found form quickly for its size. Its fist was swinging wildly toward a vulnerable Bleez. Supergirl quickly adjusted her trajectory toward her, in an instant she grabbed her and sped out of the way of the swinging fist. She did what she could to cradle Breez from the violent momentum shift, trees shattered to splinters as she slid along the ground. Bleez tried to push out of grip to no avail when they came to a stop.

“This I my fight,” Bleez said, she bared her teeth at her. Gone was the sultry woman, this was a Bleez in the true sway of her Red Lantern power. The ring reacted with intense heat to Bleez’ rage and sent a booming pulse through her body in response.

“Your energy blasts are sparking off and starting fires,” Supergirl said, still holding on to an increasingly restless Bleez.

“It’s the only way to break through that damn thing’s armour,” Bleez said. She breathed heavily, blood trickled from her nose and mouth. There was a large bruise on her face and long black hair poked out from a ripped hood.

“What exactly is that thing?” Supergirl said.

“Can’t you feel it? All it wants is destruction and pain, it has to be put down. Now let me go,” Bleez said, she wriggled and pushed at her. Bleez’ strength could not stand up to her grip and the increasingly excited ring.

“Stop, think. You’re going to get yourself killed. Now tell me what it is,” she said. Bleez still tried to get out of the hold, she looked past Supergirl and was flailing toward her target.

“The creature is inside that rock, it’s wearing the terrain like armour. If you don’t let me go it will take this time to reinforce itself again,” Bleez said, shouting an trying to pry Supergirl’s arms away. Supergirl looked back at the eclectic collection of rock and dirt. It was still for now, crouching lower to the ground to collect itself. As Bleez let on, it looked to be adding to its shell. She scanned it with her X-ray vision and could make the outline of whoever was inside. While significantly smaller than what the shell presented, it was still a sizeable creature.

“You’ve done what you can, Bleez. Stand down and let me handle it from here,” she said.

“No, I have to stop it” Bleez said, she was still trying to break the hold despite her futile efforts.

“I’m going to let go, stay there and listen to me, please,” she said. Bleez made eye contact with her for the first time. They were wide and wild, she could sense that rage she was so familiar with. The drumming of her heart was loud and overpowering.

“Breath, Bleez. Let the ring be your equal, not your master,” she said. Bleez’s fidgeting stopped, she held Supergirl’s gaze. Though an eye still twitched, the booming let up ever so slightly. Supergirl released her hold tentatively, she was weary of Bleez shooting off immediately. No such thing happened, Bleez stared at her.

“You’ve done your duty well, I don’t want you being hurt any further. I’ll handle the creature, you help the Green Lantern contain collateral,” she said. Bleez looked conflicted, it was something Supergirl knew all too well. That underlying rage was still screaming out to her to fight. She gently placed her hand on Bleez’ shoulder. “You are more than your rage, trust me.”

Bleez was still breathing heavily, though her body started to relax.

“I will do as you ask, but there is no room for mercy with that thing. I know you can sense that,” she said. She stretched her wings out.

“Thank you,” Supergirl said, bringing her hand back. Bleez looked away, her eyes darted back to her briefly before she took off in the direction where the smoke was thickest. Supergirl turned back to the creature. It was standing at its full height again, trees fell as it stretched out. Dirt and debris pattered of this shell to the shaking ground, the cracks caused by Bleez were sealed anew. For anyone else it would be a daunting foe. She focused on the outline inside this armour, with a pulse from the ring she exploded forward. The armour of thick rock shattered as she crashed into it, sediment rained all around. She hit the outline hard, pushing whatever was inside out of its armoured cocoon in a flash. With her momentum, she grabbed it and force it to the floor. What was left of the humanoid shaped rock form slowly crumbled as she stood atop the World Killer. Beneath her boot was a large creature covered in black fur. Though it was hard to tell, it looked as if she was meant to be bi-pedal and would have easily cleared ten feet. The features of her face and claws on her hands were reminiscent of a panther.

“You’ve sealed your fate by attacking me,” Deimax said. The voice was deep but feminine. She struggled to get the words past two huge sabre-like teeth. Supergirl ignored the threats. Deimax’s orange eyes glared at her, she growled in frustration each time her claws uselessly scraped against Supergirl’s skin. The ground violently shook as Supergirl focused on her ring, she tried to muster the same effort that had worked with Perrilus to cleanse Deimax from this woman’s mind. She knelt down in an attempt to keep Deimax still enough for the ring to do its work. Deimax whipped her neck round, her teeth clamped down on her reaching hand. They ground against her knuckles, unable to do any damage. Spark’s sentiment to avoid unnecessary harm sounded out amongst the monotonous hum of the ring. The ring burned at her in response to the hesitation. She stopped herself from yanking her hand away.

“We can end this here and now, stop fighting it,” she said. Deimax’s teeth clamped down harder, the fangs harmlessly itched at the sides of her palm. The punching and clawing from Deimax added to Supergirl’s growing impatience. The ground’s violent shaking caused the teeth clamped on her hand grind and scratch. Supergirl batted away a tree that fell toward them, the snarling panther was either too stubborn or too distracted to notice how fruitless her resistance was. She sighed and activated some light shielding around her hand. Deimax hissed as her jaw unclenched, even amongst the ashy air, the smell of singed fur reached her nose. She reached for Deimax’s face, the ring glowing amongst the dim light and the smoke. Her reach was interrupted by Deimax slamming her fist into the ground, the earth beneath them lurched and the rumble turned into a cacophonous explosion of dirt. The force caused her to stumble back, in this moment Deimax leapt up. She towered above her, some of the harder debris that exploded up had attached itself to Deimax’s oversized fist. The creature’s fist swung at Supergirl’s face. Supergirl held her ground and stared into the eyes of her attacker. The gauntlet of rock broke across her face as the clawed fist found its target. There was a heavy thud, the mighty swing had stopped dead against her cheek. Deimax backed off in disbelief at her unmoved target. Supergirl held eye contact as she brushed off the remnants of the shattered rock. Deimax shook off her shock and raised her fists in the air to slam down at Supergirl. With this opening, Supergirl took her chance, her ring flashed brightly as she took hold of Deimax’s face and the wash of red energy engulfed the hulking monster’s form. The shoulders slumped, Supergirl felt the ring’s influence take hold as she tightened her grip on the side of the beast’s face.

There was a sudden sharp pain, it forced her to reel her hand back in. She sensed a violent outburst of rage from Deimax.

“Supergirl?” she shouted. Deimax’s head snapped from side to side as she looked to be taking in her surroundings.

“Are you okay? What’s your name?” Supergirl said. Deimax’s eyes narrowed and she snarled. She brought her fists slamming to the ground amplifying the rumbling. Supergirl put her hand up to block the worst of the collateral hitting her face. Beneath her, there was a wave of force rippling centred from Deimax’s fists, it ripped up the grass and all the remaining trees fell away at the rolling destruction.

“Deimax is gone, why are you fighting?” Supergirl said. The rage she sensed from the World Killer was growing inside her, like water reaching its boiling point.

“The world has stepped on me long enough, it’s time to pay it back,” she shouted. She slammed her fists into the ground again. A stronger wave of force caused Supergirl to stumble, she floated up to avoid the next wave of force that was shooting from the ground. Deimax roared out as a crater formed around her from the constant slamming and quaking ground. Supergirl could only stare in disbelief, the ring’s brief contentment was falling by the wayside. She exhaled heavily as a heavy boom came from her chest. The pulsing of force Deimax’s shockwaves were quickly being replaced by that primal heartbeat of the ring. She held her head and tried to resist it. The seismic waves from Deimax grew more violent. The trembling ground was breaking apart, distinct cracks were forming among the growing crater. A blaze of red light shot into Deimax, she fell back. The red blaze bounced off, boned wings outstretched from it and bolts red of energy shot out from the ring. It slammed into thick hide of the World Killer.

“Bleez, stop. She’s confused,” Supergirl snarled, still doing what she could to push past the ring’s growing impatience. Bleez turned back, artfully dodging a counter-charge from Deimax. The World Killer zipped past their view as the momentum carried her far.

“I don’t care who she is, she’s bent on taking out everything on this planet. I know you can feel it too, so stop stalling and do something about it,” Bleez said. Supergirl tried to focus, Bleez’ words rang true to her. That boiling she felt in her blood was the ring reacting to whoever Deimax was, an unhinged anger ready to lash out without remorse.

The Green Lantern flew toward them, narrowly avoiding Deimax and constructing a green translucent wall between them and Deimax. It absorbed the brunt of the force and crackled with energy each time it took a hit

“What the hell’s going on, we just about had it contained,” He shouted over the crashing chaos.

“Supergirl’s mercy is getting in the way of everyone’s safety, destroy that thing before it does permanent damage to this planet,” Bleez said.

“I cleansed the World Killer programming, I know it worked. But she’s still fighting. Whoever she was is furious and she’s not stopping,” she said. The Green Lantern seemed distracted after a moment of pause his mask fade away from his face. At that moment it hit her why he had seemed so familiar.

“Prometheus?” She said.

“It’s Fletcher. And hold on to that mercy, Supergirl. I wouldn’t be here without it. I was angry at the world once, maybe I can get through to her.” He dropped the wall and flew toward Deimax. The crumbling landscape and growing craters shook with increasing destructiveness.

“Stop, I get it. We live in a cruel world and you want to strike back in any way you can. It’s okay to stop, you can change your mind if…” this was as far as he got before a lunch chunk of the ground was tossed at him by the World Killer, a construct of a bat formed and knocked it harmlessly into the horizon.

“That’s not going to work and you know it,” Bleez said. Every instinct told her to give Prometheus the chance. She took a deep breath, her boiling blood seared away at her as she took in her surroundings. The landscape was barely recognisable, the picturesque park was being reduced to rubble and smoke. The restless Bleez eyed the World Killer impatiently. Her once former foe batting away more projectiles and trying to yell reasoning over the destruction. She clenched her fist, deep down she knew she had to do. The ring spurred her on. She shot forward, crashing her fist into Deimax’s face. There was a delayed boom from the hit as Deimax’s head whiplashed sideways. The violent rumbling began to let up as a dazed Deimax waywardly stumbled, her legs falling from under her. As she fell to her knees there was another crack across her face as Bleez blazed in and hit her again. Deimax slumped to the ground, twitching slightly and out cold. Supergirl turned to a smiling Bleez.

“That was overdoing it,” she said. The trembling ground finally let up and the park fell still. The rumbling was done, there was an eerie silence in the destroyed park.

“I’d say it finished the job,” Bleez said, her body language returned to that of the calmer Bleez. Supergirl detested the exhilaration the ring pulsed through her at the sight of the fallen World Killer. The Green lantern landed beside them.

“You could have at least given me another minute to try,” he said.

“I’m sorry, I know you meant well but she was doing too much damage to reason with,” she said. He sighed.

“I hate to agree but I can’t argue,” he said, picking up part of a splintered tree and examining it.

“She’s still breathing, dear,” Bleez said, she had grown used to seeing Bleez so composed, but hair still poked out and she looked rough from her battle-weary state.

“We’re not killing her,” Supergirl said, her ring glimmered and Bleez took a step back.

“Fine. But care to explain to me exactly how we stop her from doing this again. If this happens in a populated area I will hold you just as responsible as her… darling,” Bleez said. Supergirl did not need the ring to sense Bleez’ anger.

“Earth doesn’t have the means,” she turned to Fletcher. “But I’m guessing Oa does.” He looked taken aback.

“You’re not wrong, it’ll be a hard sell though. I’ll talk to Hal and the Guardians,” he said.

“Working with Green Lanterns?” Bleez said, she made no effort to hide her distain.

“You once said to me that the Red Lantern Corps needs a change. This is change,” she said. Bleez’ harsh expression to a small frown, she then looked to the ground and said nothing.

“There’ll need to be a hell of clean up, but after a quick sweep of the damage I’d say were’ done here,” Fletcher said. Supergirl half-heartedly nodded in acknowledgment, distracted by Bleez’s reaction. The beat of her heart as soft, the ring’s heat settled itself. After all this chaos, there was now only the quiet hum.


	40. Support

The return to the DEO had turned into a dull affair. She had left J’onn, Optic and Fletcher bickering on the finer points of how to handle Deimax. She had gone up to the roof to get away from it, as far as she knew the World Killer threat had been dealt with. What had once seemed so daunting was rendered a minor inconvenience with the ring’s power. It was a rare instance of the ring being content and it having to fight off her disappointment.

She sat on the side, her feet dangled freely above the heights of National City’s skyline. Another eventful day had gone by for it. A warm red glow emerged from far below. It made its way toward her, no brighter than the streetlamps pushing away the darkness. Bleez floated up to her. She hovered a few feet away, her wings were beating gently. She had cleaned herself up since Yellowstone, the injuries had all but faded and her uniform seemed untouched. She was striking as ever, her yellow eyes glinted like shining gold.

“Leaving those things alive is a risk. That one we just fought wants only destruction. You must have felt it,” Bleez said. A chill from the ring saw through her aggressive tone. Supergirl shifted sideways and tapped beside her.

“Care to sit with me?” She said.

“I don’t think…” Bleez started.

“Come on, you helped save this planet. Why not stop to look at the people you protect?” She said. Bleez opened her mouth to speak but seemed to stop herself. She folded in her wings and those yellow eyes scanned her intently. The boiling of her blood let up as Bleez took these moments to think. Supergirl looked past her, she people-watched the same old National City. Some lights turned on, various workers and cleaners got on with their night. Other’s lights switched off to join the darkness as people made their way home, unphased by the cult’s rampage. The hum of the city harmonised with the hum of the ring’s chorus. A constant amongst the bizarre shifting nature of her circumstances.

Bleez approached slowly and gently placed herself where beckoned. She was distracted by the novelty of letting her legs dangle as she sat on this edge. Supergirl had to shift a little further, even folded in, the wings scratched at her side.

“I don’t understand you, Supergirl. I’ve felt rage from you that’s matched Atrocitus himself in its ferocity. Then there are times like this where it’s nowhere to be seen.” She looked at Supergirl’s hand. “That ring’s presence feels so strange, it can be cold and measuring. So much so my own ring placates itself. Where do you fall in all this? Violence or mercy, anger or stillness?” Supergirl looked at her, there was no sultry smile or gritted teeth. She was simply met with an inquisitive expression.

“I don’t understand me either. Honestly, I think the ring is adjusting to me as much as I’m adjusting to it. I’ve been told if I don’t harbour enough rage that it would abandon me. I fight it, practically demand it calm down and compromise, yet it sticks with me,” she said. Bleez looked down at her feet again. Headlights drifted along the roads so far below them. The cool air breezed by her ears. She brushed her hair aside.

“My turn to ask a question. Why do you wear that hooded mask of yours, granted I barely know you but you don’t seem the type with anything to hide,” she said. Bleez rubbed her forehead and pouted, after another pause she pulled it off. She shook her hair out to reveal the long black locks that had poked out earlier.

“I’ve never really thought about it, it’s just part of the uniform I manifest,” Bleez said.

“Maybe you’re less content with the ring’s violence than you think. Easier to hurt others when you hide your face,” she said. There was a flare of heat as both their rings glimmered.

“What’s it to you? You don’t even want anything to do with the corps,” Bleez said. Despite the light blue skin and wings, she seemed so much more human with the mask off.

“I didn’t. I thought at this point I’d want to get rid of it, the threat I kept it for is dealt with now.” She looked to the sky. “Now it appears it’s not done with me, and I have been listening to you, Bleez. Atrocitus can’t keep going on unchecked, if I can change the corps for the better I will,” she said. Bleez furrowed her brow and looked back out to national city.

“That’s part of the reason I came back so quickly. Not only did I feel that creature’s anger, but I met with more of the other Red lanterns. I told you that Atrocitus was coming for you, I think I was wrong,” Bleez said.

“You’re framing this like bad news,” Supergirl said.

“Don’t get me wrong, You’re definitely part of his plans. Though it now sounds like this planet is where his true interest lies. I don’t think it’s a coincidence I keep getting drawn back here. This planet resonates with the rings for some reason or other,” she said. Supergirl nodded.

“I knew this wouldn’t be over so quickly, I’ll just deal with whatever comes my way. I hope you’re alright with me relying on you for information. Even now I’m sure the guardians wouldn’t be overly happy if I left the planet,” she said.

“Is there anything you want me to say on your behalf when I do go back out there?” Bleez said.

“I don’t like this idea of picking sides.” She sighed. “My ring listens to me, it protests less as my judgements are more of a compromise to its absolutes. My experience of the corps is practically nothing, but from what you’ve told me this is totally unheard of. This philosophy is practically all I’ve known as a Red Lantern, it seems as good a message as any,” she said. Bleez wrung her hands nervously

“Well, I did say the corps needed to change. Freedom and compromise… there’ll be plenty of reds who will reject that idea outright,” she said.

“You don’t have to stick your neck out for me,” Supergirl said. Bleez folded her arms and closed her eyes briefly. She slowed her breathing, the red glow around her dimmed and the breeze brushed through her hair.

“I heard of what you did to the Daxamites. And even with a more tempered ring, you must still hurt people. I’ve killed many in my time as well, I even find myself regretting some of them. How do you deal with the guilt?” Bleez said. The image of her father flickered in her mind as she thought back to the chamber. Her heart and shoulders felt heavy, but there was a warmth to them. It was a different warmth, not from the ring or the weather. It was just from the memory.

“I let it motivate me, I can’t let the mistakes of the past define everything I am. So I learn and then try to keep doing the next best thing,” she said.

“The next best thing? I don’t what that means,” Bleez said.

“Try to see past the rage. Do what you think is right, the ring might just pay attention,” she said. Bleez clenched her fist, she seemed to be concentrating on her ring. Supergirl said nothing, she allowed Bleez to have this moment to her own thoughts. They were easy words to say, acting on them was so very different. The incident at the hospital brought her to the brink, for so long that had been the norm for the woman beside her. The hum of her ring wiled away in her mind, it was warming her again. Always happy to remind of her of its constant presence, compromise or not it still had its own will to impose. Even with its persistence she enjoyed the stillness of the city at night. After the encounter with Deimax had shook the very Earth itself, it was a pleasant contrast to sit in silence and let her feet dangle in the night air. Her eyes stung as a sudden bright glow emanated beside her, she slipped off from the surprise. She had to catch herself in mid-air and floated back up to Bleez. Her ring had flashed and a surprised Bleez had a construct of translucent red feathers filling in the gaps of her boned wings. As the wings stretched out, the energy from the ring followed them along. They grew in brightness and thickness until the bone was covered in red energy to form angelic wings. Bleez opened her eyes and looked back. There was a shocked expression on her face, the feathers vanished as suddenly as they appeared. The red energy retreated back into her ring and the wings returned to normal. The bare bones were outstretched to her sides. Bleez pulled the hood over her head.

“I should go,” she said, a red aura engulfed her and she floated up from the edge.

“Bleez…” she said. Even with the mask on, her flustered panic was easy to read.

“There’s work to do. I’ll report back if I hear anything useful,” Bleez said.

“I… please do,” she said, part of her wanted to pry. She thought better of it and let Bleez leave. Her red aura faded slowly in the darkened sky as she ascended out of sight. She sat back down and looked back to her own ring, it was a rooftop similar to this where it first came to her. It was strange to think how recently it came along with how it had become such a dominant part of her psyche. She wandered if she had sent Bleez on a similar path or how susceptible to her influence other Red Lanterns would be. She needed to keep the ring for whatever Atrocitus had planned, though it made her dwell on her relationship with it. If she could find some sort of balance with it in the long term or keep influencing it in her own way it might lessen the anguish it inflicted on her and her unluckier victims. With how much Supergirl had been questioned and doubted prior to finding it, even by herself, perhaps a place amongst the Red Lantern Corps was more attractive to her than she wanted to admit.

She let the thoughts pass by along with the motions of National City. The moonlight intermittently crept between the rolling clouds. She was content to be alone, though inevitably she was interrupted by the sound of footsteps. No doubt there was a long debriefing from both the DEO and the Lanterns. If it were Alex it would be unbearable, she was still yet to tell her that the ring needed to stay. She took the chance to enjoy the last few moments of National City in the quiet night. She heard the roof-access door swung open

“Been a strange day.” Of course, it had ended up being someone she wanted to see even less than her sister. It was Optic’s voice that carried across the open rooftop. She turned to him, he was leaning against the doorway.

“Here for some alone time too?” She said.

“Actually, I was looking for you,” he said. She shifted back, content not to look at him while he spoke. “Thought you’d want to know. Deimax will be taken to Oa to be contained. Beth and Jo are with Superman. The World Killers are no longer a problem for you.”

“Everyone else may be letting you off the hook, but you were designed to be one of them and lying is second nature to you,” she said.

“I didn’t come here for your forgiveness. Though if it makes you feel better J’onn is forcing me to be far more co-operative if I’m to keep seeing the others. My so-called lying will be far more scrutinised as I work with the D.E.O.,” he said. Though she still refused to face him, she could still hear his breathing and a lack of movement.

“You’ve told me about the World Killers, why are you still here?” She said.

“I’m checking on you, hard to believe, I know. I didn’t know Zor-El was your father. Judging by your reaction you didn’t know about his involvement, can’t be easy…” He paused. “What is your name, Your real name?” He asked.

“Why would I tell you that?” She said.

“Not many of us Kryptonians left, doesn’t hurt to know,” he said.

She let the ring fester in the anger toward her father and took a breath.

“You first, a real name,” she said.

“That name died when I landed on Earth,” he said.

“Humour me,” she said.

“Dorn,” he said.

“And your house name?” She said, he chuckled.

“Don’t have a house,” he said.

“Everyone has a house,” she said.

“Not everyone. And it isn’t uncommon to ditch a name when you’re in the labour guild, also not so uncommon to ditch the work,” he said. The ring was pulsing away, distracted by thoughts of her father and home.

“Are you lying to me right now?” she said.

“Probably,” he said. She sighed, the ring was still no help. It hummed away at her and her blood was warming to its usual searing heat.

“Kara Zor-El,” she said. He laughed. “What’s funny?”

“You really weren’t very creative with that secret identity of yours, were you?” He said.

“I recall Lena telling you not to be a dick about knowing who I was,” she said.

“She did,” he exhaled loudly.

“Is there a reason you’re still talking to me,” she said.

“Jo was adopted into a family, Beth has a husband, who knows who Deimax was before this. Becoming so very alien isn’t easy. Even though you and I can blend in, it still takes its toll. I’m going to be visiting the World Killers regularly to help them adjust. Well… I guess Ex-World Killers now. It occurred to me that you might want the same thing,” he said. She swung her legs round and faced his direction. Even with his casual lean he seemed serious.

“You don’t like me and I don’t like you, you can see why I’m sceptical of this offer,” she said.

“You’re right, I don’t like you. Even with whatever tech Superman has to help Kryptonian’s heal, there’s no way Beth will ever fully recover from what you did to her. The others got lucky, Sam’s more put together than I am but still took my offer… not sure what use I’ll be…” he tailed off. “I’m many things, but I’m not petty. If I can help you like I’ll try to help them, then I will,” he said. She glanced down at her ring.

“I don’t need help,” she said.

“Maybe not from me, but everyone needs help sometimes,” he said, she fiddled with the ring. It was more unpredictable than ever, not to mention who was coming for her.

“It’s safer for everyone if I keep my distance,” she said. After a pause he chortled to himself and rubbed his face.

“Now what’s funny?” She said, her impatience for his mannerisms returned with force.

“Violence aside, I think I just figured out why I have such a problem with you,” he said.

“You have plenty of reasons to hate me. I get it, I’ve apologised already,” she said.

“Pfft, I don’t blame you for the sins of your father. No, what I mean is that rhetoric of yours. Safer for everyone you say. To make a long story short I abandoned people that cared about me, told myself it was for their own good…”

“Don’t you dare say we’re alike,” she interrupted, she sensed his own growing impatience.

“Being alone is no way to help yourself,” he said.

“You saw what happened to the World Killers and chastise me for it. One loss of control and they nearly died,” she said.

“Eurgh, I can’t believe I thought the same way for all these years. It’s so bloody obviously wrong when looking at it from the outside,” he said, the aggravation in his tone grew with each word.

“I won’t put myself in a position where I could hurt others, keeping distance is the price of that,” she said.

“This isn’t about “others” and you know it,” he said.

“What the hell are you on about?” she said.

“Fine. I’ll spell it out. I’m talking about Lena, you moron,” he said.

“Don’t you dare bring her in to this,” she said.

“Lena cares about you, but you insist on pushing her away. Haven’t you noticed that when Lena talks to you, you’re suddenly in control no matter how extreme the circumstance? Don’t use the fear of your own feelings to justify isolating yourself. Take it from someone whose lived that same mistake for decades,” he said. She wanted to retort, the ring spurred her on to argue with a pulse of heat. Instead her shoulders slumped, her heart slowed and she let the words sit. Optic’s breathed slowed as well, after a long silence between them he shifted out of his leaning position. Whether he was bored, had done the damage he wanted or was as exhausted as she was, he swung the door open and looked to leave.

“Just leave me alone, the city is safe now. You can slink back to the shadows,” She called out to him. He held the door and turned back.

“I promised myself to keep an eye on the whole World Killer situation and help those affected by it when I abandoned my old life. It kept me sane, gave me purpose. That purpose carries on. Until Sam, Jo, Beth and Deimax are content I will be watching over them and helping them to adjust to what they are. No shadows for me, not anymore.” He moved forward, the door started to swing shut behind him. He stopped himself and caught it to step back out. “My help isn’t valuable to you, that’s fine. But if you push away Lena. You won’t just lose her, you’ll lose yourself.” Those were the last words he spoke before heading back own the stairwell.

She clenched her fists in frustration. It would be so easy to knock him down a peg and put him in his place. It was an arrogance that was hard to stomach, he presumed to know her and even compared her to him. The frustration was like a pit in her stomach, her shoulders and heart were still heavy. It took a significant effort to stop herself from yelling out into the empty night. Strangely enough, the ring was not encouraging it. It was passive in its own way, happy to drone that hum in her mind and sear her blood in a way she had grown so accustomed to, but it did not flare up or grow louder. She begrudgingly returned to her seat on the side of the roof. With someone like him around it was hard to be comfortable being Supergirl, the revelations of Krypton and her father pressed down on that side of her. She barely knew what a Red Lantern was, with her ring’s influence in flux and Bleez’s confusion she doubted there would be any useful conclusion on that side of things. It pained her but she found herself falling back on what Optic had said, with a mix of Kal’s wisdom to add salt to the wound. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to talk to Lena about being plain old Kara Danvers.


	41. Calm

She made her way back down to the central control of the D.E.O., the atmosphere was more relaxed than she had seen in a while. She scanned the room for Lena, there was no sign of her in the main area. A quick use of her heightened senses revealed to her that Lena was with Sam in the medical wing, she was intercepted on her way out by Fletcher.

“Hi Supergirl, can I just have a quick word?” He said. Supergirl looked through the wall past him at Lena. She turned to him and sighed.

“Sure,” she said.

“Is the other Red Lantern here? I wanted to talk to her as well,” he said, her initial suspicion was staved away by his calm demeanour. The ring was also staying relatively quiet, for whatever that meant any more.

“She’s gone, has her own work to do,” she said.

“No matter, you can pass the message on. We’ve had our differences, you and I especially, though when it came down to it and the planet was in danger, you both stepped up. I won’t forget that. I’ll let Hal and the Guardians know too,” he said. She nodded slightly and tapped at her chin.

“Appreciated… so you’re a green Lantern? Can’t say I expected that,” she said. He laughed slightly.

“You and me both, I didn’t want to waste that chance you gave me back when I was in the armour. Though misguided my goal was always to help people. You helped me see through the fog of my anger. Maybe it was a coincidence, maybe it was the push you gave me. Either way the ring wanted to give me that same chance, it just felt right you know? A chance to protect people the right way. I only wish I could have done the same for Deimax,” he said.

“I’m sorry had to cut you off on that front. You may have gotten through to her eventually, but she was doing too much damage,” she said.

“I get it, and you have to hand it to me. Even at my worst I was a tad more rational than her,” he said.

“Eh, borderline,” she said. He let out a small laugh, folded his arms and looked at the ground briefly.

“Well she’ll be contained on Oa soon, I intend to keep checking up on her. Along with the man with many names. Hopefully we can get through to the woman she once was,” he said.

Even though it was winding down, the D.E.O. was still currently a wealth of activity, J’onn and Alex emerged from it to join them.

“Am I wrong, or is this a pleasantly calm interaction,” J’onn said.

“Yes, somehow the Green and the Red are getting along. When Hal gets here we’ll take Deimax to Oa,” Fletcher said.

“I take it you’ll be back shortly after?” J’onn said.

“I’ll make your case to the Guardians, but the Daxamite situation is still a bone of contention. It won’t go away any time soon,” Fletcher said.

“Understood,” J’onn was very accepting of the situation, he did not let the silence sit long and looked to her. “Well things should ease up now the World Killers are off the board, and we can at least get that ring off you now.”

“I’m afraid she can’t” Fletcher said. The ring sprang to some sort of life as she saw Alex’s expression harden.

“I mean, you’re right. But what makes you say that?” Supergirl said, more intrigued than anything. She saw Alex’s jaw clench, she knew her sister well enough to know she was holding back her tongue.

“The Red Lanterns are more active than ever, their leader along with large gatherings of them have been spotted all over the universe. Something big is happening with your corps,” He turned to her “And though I can only guess, I’d say you have a large part to play in it.” She kept an eye on Alex when she nodded.

“If you’ll excuse me, I need to debrief more of the team,” Alex said, she turned on her heel and move off quickly. It did not take the ring’s senses to tell how angry she was, it was in her voice and all over her face. It was crushing to see the small progress they had made disappear in a few sentences. J’onn did his best to not let the tension distract him and soldiered through the conversation.

“I hope you’ll keep me apprised of this situation. Unless there’s any protest, Supergirl can continue to operate on Earth,” he said.

“No protest here, as long as she largely stays out of any Earth Government’s command structures, the Guardians can’t kick up too much of a stink,” Fletcher said. The discussion petered out, she considered checking in on Alex but quickly dismissed it. No doubt it would end poorly and she needed some time to process it herself. Instead she made her way through to the medical wing. Plenty of tired agents were packing things away, putting on coats and heading out. Though she no longer suffered exhaustion in the same way, it was easy to relate to the staff sluggishly shuffling out the door. From field agent to analyst, the piles of coffee mugs and lethargic movement meant they must have been on round-the-clock shifts while the World Killers were a potential threat. Some of them acknowledged her, but for the most part she was ignored as she walked through the open spaces of monitors and through to the glass panelling of the medical wing. The blinds to her room were not drawn so she could see through this section unaided. Sam was sat up on the bed with a beaker of clear liquid in her hand. Lena was facing away from the corridor she was approaching from. Sam winced as she gulped from the beaker.

“Come on, it’s the last dose,” Lena said.

“Would a sweetener have ruined the antidote?” Sam said, frowning at the half-finished concoction.

“Yes. Now it’s either a bad taste in the mouth or Perrilus’ poison, I’ll let you decide which you prefer,” Lena said.

“You were a lot nicer when you installed the arm,” Sam said, there was a brief smirk before she looked down and the reality of the antidote’s taste hit her again.

“You didn’t complain about the arm,” Lena said. Sam necked the rest, she swallowed hard and coughed. Her face was a picture of disgust, confusion quickly entered the mix as she noticed Supergirl.

“Hello?” Sam said. The antidote was still taking its toll, she stuck her tongue out and heaved slightly. Lena turned, her face lit up before her own confusion merged into her expression.

“Supergirl? What brings you here?” Lena said.

“Just checking in,” she said, she poked her head around the doorway. Sam looked to Lena and then at her.

“Erm… come in, come in. Sorry, caught me off-guard is all,” Sam said. She stepped through, the subtle whirs of the mechanical arm somehow broke through the hum as Sam placed the beaker on a side-table. “Lena was just telling me everyone’s accounted for, mission successful or whatever they say around here.”

“Something like that…” she had come in for Lena but realised there were things that needed to be said. The remorselessness she experienced when talking to Ruby seemed like a distant memory. The ring protested in its own way, sending spiking sensations of cold at her as she put the words together in her head. “That man you saw, the one that made you a World Killer. He was my father. I guess I can apologise on his behalf what he did to you.” She looked at her feet briefly before she took a deep breath and glanced up again. “But it wasn’t him that cut your arm off. I know an apology may not mean much but…”

“I don’t need this.” Sam cut her off and put her hand out. “My time as Reign was blurry, I’m only vaguely aware of what she did. What I do know for sure is that she hurt a lot of people, you included. You hurt her back and kicked her out of my head, I’m willing to leave it at that,” Sam said. Lena’s gaze darted between the two of them. Supergirl shook her hand, it sounded like Sam wanted to dwell on it as little as she did. It was little relief. As she had told Bleez, it was a least something she could attempt to learn and move on from now.

“Besides, everything seems to have worked out… for the most part,” Sam said as she side-eyed the empty beaker.

“What will you do now?” She said to pre-empt any awkward silence.

“Go home to my daughter I imagine,” Sam said.

“Not yet you’re not. You need to stay here another night to rest and confirm the antidote’s worked properly,” Lena said. Sam pouted at her “I’ve made sure she’s being looked after. One more night no weaselling out of it.” Supergirl was in disbelief as to how casual Sam was being, she could not help herself but ask.

“Surely It can’t be that easy for you?” She said. Sam shrugged.

“Eh, maybe not. I know for a fact I’m going to be a public figure now. A mask doesn’t exactly cover my skin and unique prosthetic, I can take that as it comes. As for Krypton, I certainly have a lot of thinking to do on that front. Will it be easy? Probably not. But I have the support I need. And as for right now, I can simply look forward to seeing my daughter,” Sam said.

“But what my father did to you…” she said

“Is in the past. He said it himself, we’re Krypton’s legacy. Might as well make it a good one,” Sam said. It was odd to be blindsided by Sam’s reaction, she had no idea how to react to it.

“Well Sam needs her rest and it’s been a long day,” Lena stepped up, she must have read her discomfort in that instant.

“Thanks, guess I’ll see you soon” Sam said. Lena took Supergirl’s arm and they walked out together. They passed Optic on their way out, he was leaned against the wall opposite Sam’s room. He wordlessly gave Lena a nod. Supergirl craned her neck back before they turned a corner to see him dip into Sam’s room. She could see a grin rise on his face as he entered the room.

“Are you alright, Supergirl,” Lena said. She snapped her attention back to her, Lena still had her by the arm and they were headed back through to the main control room.

“I… don’t know,” she said. Lena smiled.

“Fair enough, been a long day for all of us,” Lena said. The beeping of medical devices faded into the background when they cleared the medical wing. Even in the short time she had left, it looked quite bare in the command centre. J’onn and Fletcher were nowhere to be seen and the once-crowded space had been reduced to a skeleton crew of mostly fresh faces.

“I’ve only been in and out of this place in the last couple of months, I dare say this is the most relaxed I’ve ever seen it,” Lena said. Supergirl half-acknowledged her.

“Can I walk home with you?” She said. Lena looked taken a back. “Not like this of course, I mean as Kara Danvers.”

“The weather’s not great...” Lena’s warm smile returned. “Some fresh evening air could do us some good.”

“I’ll meet you outside,” she said. She set out and left the shining panels and glowing screens of the D.E.O. behind her. It was easy enough to be out of sight with the dim street lighting and the day’s events. She tied her hair back and materialised some civilian clothing. She debated whether to bother with the glasses. She opted for them despite these spare frames itching at the bridge of her nose. She moved round to the front of the building, a few minutes later Lena emerged. Lena shivered slightly as a breeze rushed against her coat. Supergirl looked around, with the coast clear she materialised a coat of her own. Cold was easy to forget with boiling blood.

Lena spotted her quickly and strode over to her.

“Well hello, Miss Danvers. Nice night for a stroll wouldn’t you say?” She said. Supergirl smiled back and beckoned her to start walking. The soft lights of the eerily quiet National City street was a pleasant backdrop. They went at a sauntering pace, Lena took hold of her arm occasionally as the wind picked up in strength every so often. They allowed the first minutes to be quiet, enjoying each other’s company and Lena no doubt happy for the warmth that huddling with a Red Lantern provided. The heaviness of her chest and shoulders that emerged when the ring was being fussy reared its head. Though this time she let it fester and pushed away the hum. Lena looked back and forth through the empty street before speaking.

“So, now all is said and done. How are you?” Lena said.

“Like I said, I don’t know. But I think that’s okay,” she said.

“Not angry?” Lena said. There was a flare of heat from the ring, she smiled.

“Always a little angry. Just as things got better with Alex, she found out I have to keep the ring,” she said.

“She’ll come around. She can be as stubborn as you, but she’s also just as resilient,” Lena said.

“Stubborn?” She said. Lena raised an eyebrow at her. “Alright, that’s fair.”

Kara looked to the sky as Lena chuckled to herself, there was not much to see as clouds had rolled in. Boiling blood made it hard to tell when it colder, she could only guess that it was happening as Lena huddled toward. She gently squeezed Lena closer.

“You know what, enough about me. How are you doing?” She said.

“I’m fine, a bit tired after today,” Lena said. Supergirl glanced sideways at Lena, she had picked up the pace ever so slightly.

“You don’t need to cover for my sake, how are you?” She said. Lena pulled up slightly and looked into her eyes for a moment contemplatively. Supergirl did her best to stave away anything the ring might try. Lena looked back to the path. She spoke up after a few steps

“It’s been taxing from time to time. As calm as Sam is now, it took a lot of work to get there. Not to mention my own hang ups with what she was,” Lena said.

“I must admit, I’m jealous of how much she’s taking it in stride. In a weird way I’m relieved that she needed your help as much I do,” she said. Lena seemed to perk up at this. She looked up at the sky again as she felt a patter of droplets hit her face. The rain sputtered to a start.

“Seeing you and her work through everything is enough to keep me going, it always will be. Even when I feel most stressed, I know it’s worth it,” Lena said.

“Well from now on, don’t be afraid to tell me if you feel strained. Ring or not, this has been a one-way street for too long,” she said.

“Thank you, Kara,” Lena said. The drizzle of the rain picked up, not overly heavy but it was becoming bothersome. Lena pulled away and fished into her bag.

“I can shield us if you want,” she said.

“The streets may be empty, but a glowing red umbrella may be a tad conspicuous,” Lena said as she propped up her own umbrella. She leaned under it as the drops pattered away above them.

“Not exactly what I had in mind when I suggested this, I can fly you the rest of the way if you like,” she said. Lena moved the umbrella to cover her better.

“I’m happy right here,” Lena said with a smile. Another gust pushed at the umbrella, Lena arched it forward to stop it picking up underneath. Another spatter of rain hit them, it did little to damper their spirits. Even with the ring wiling away in the background, she got caught up in Lena’s good mood.

“It’s days like these I’m glad my cape’s gone. You know a poll I saw said that people prefer the Red Lantern look to my classic one?” She said.

“Wow, really? Not what I expected,” Lena said, she had hesitated a tad too long. She pulled back and squinted at Lena, who avoided making any eye contact back.

“You prefer it too, don’t you?” She said. Lena puffed her cheeks.

“Pffft, no,” Lena said. Kara side-eyed her before she looked back down the empty straight and leaned in closer for more umbrella cover. She enjoyed her warmth as their footsteps splashed in lockstep down the darkened streets of National City.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading.  
> There will be a part 3. It will focus on the grander scale of the Lanterns and tie up the loose ends in Kara's relationships. I intend to do some shorter, unrelated one-shots in the meantime as finalizing the structure and hammering out part 3 will likely take quite some time.
> 
> As ever, comments/reviews are greatly appreciated and I hope you've enjoyed what I've written.


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